8 - Sítio Sr. Niquinho - Brazil 2023 (Wet)

Born in Carmo de Minas, Luiz Paulo is the first of four siblings in one of the region’s traditional coffee producing families. He is part of the fourth generation of coffee growers and, together with his siblings and cousins, helps to transit a great part of the local coffee production tradition over the years.

Luiz studied business administration at Santa Marta College, in São Lourenço, and shortly after graduating took over part of the family business.

Working on the farms, in 2004, he joined with one of his cousins, Jacques Pereira Carneiro, to begin a pioneering project: valuing the specialty coffees from Carmo de Minas and the region. What Luiz Paulo perceived, however, was that the region had a unique identity, a set of specific attributes that gave the local coffee distinct flavors, which placed them among the best in the world. He remembers that the lack of value of the region’s coffees affected the entire production chain and the lives of thousands of families that depending on coffee growing in the Mantiqueira region. Knowing how this identity could impact the region, they specialized in specialty coffees.

The project grew and, little by little, Luiz managed to transform the vision of a world built upon specialty coffees produced in the region (and in Brazil). Thus, in 2007, he and his cousin Jacques founded CarmoCoffees. The company arose with the goal of exploring the possibilities of sustainable coffee business. Not only exporting coffee through direct channels, but also driving research in specialty coffees in the Mantiqueira de Minas region. With greater valuation of the coffees, many coffee producers and families that depending on cultivating the plant could improve their lives.

The Grandfather’s Reward
When Luiz’s grandfather passed away, in recognition of his career path, his family decided to award him with a coffee farm called Sítio Senhor Niquinho, which was actually his grandfather’s nickname. With average annual rainfall between 1250 and 1400 mm, Sr. Niquinho has native forests, surrounding riparian forests and springs, all of which are totally preserved. The coffees grown there are processed at Fazenda Irmãs Pereira, due to the proximity of the two farms and its great processing capacity.

The Future
“For me, producing coffee thinking about sustainability is a vital part for any coffee grower nowadays. We must have the responsibility to produce quality consistently and to protect the environment around us, as well as the society in which we live. Doing our work with these rules in mind, we’re capable of offering exactly what our demanding clients around the world want from a coffee supplier.”

Production steps:
The coffee cherries were picked by hand and then taken to the washer for separation. Next the ripe cherries were pulped. The coffee was dried on African beds.