I’ve returned from my visit to the Sinay Neves Family’s Conquista farm in Bahia, Brazil. It was great to see the farm and learn more about the family’s plan to continue growing and providing some of the best coffee Brazil has to offer.

After four flights carried me from Milwaukee to the city of Vitoria da Conquista in the state of Bahia, I was tired, but ready to see some coffee. I was met by my friend, Daniel Neves at the airport. Daniel's family owns and operates the farm that has supplied us with Brazilian coffee for the past 5 years. Daniel, though born in Brazil, is half American and currently lives in Denver, CO and manages the family's US coffee sales.

My first order of business was to review, evaluate and approve the pre-shipment sample of the coffee that will soon be on its way to Milwaukee. I was delighted to find that the coffee lived up to my expectations. It had a nice, smooth body with a hint of citrus acidity that delighted the senses. I also found notes of chocolate and fruit with an ever so slightly earthy finish. I gladly told Daniel that the sample was approved and he could begin the export process.

From there, Daniel and I traveled two hours on some rocky roads to the farm near the village of Encruzilhada. Daniel, along with his cousin Fernando, spent two days showing me the farm and teaching me about their methodology behind running this family business. I was also able to see Educafe, a school built by the nonprofit organization Socially Conscious Coffee. This school provides elementary education to the children of coffee pickers and anyone else in the community that would like to attend. For the past five years, $0.10 from the purchase of every pound of Conquista coffee has gone to help fund this school.
Visiting the Neves family was an incredible experience. Seeing how they have created the perfect blend between a large organization and a family business is inspiring and cemented in my mind that we are working with the right family in Brazil. I can’t wait to go back and continue to watch them grow.

You can read more details of my trip by downloading my Trip Report. You can also watch the photo stream below to see some of what I saw.

Happy reading and sip slowly.
-Steve