Coffee that can be negotiated at R$ 6,000.00 a kg abroad, had an unpretentious beginning and was born from a “problem” in Espírito Santo
Did you know that one of the most expensive coffees in the world is produced exclusively on a farm in Brazil? The famous “Café Jacu” has a certain address around here, in the state of Espírito Santo, it is produced in an unusual way and that is only possible through sustainability and environmental preservation taking place in practice.
However, to understand the history of one of the most exotic coffees in the world, it is necessary to go back in time, as the trajectory of Fazenda Camocim began in 1962 in a forest recovery project. Olivar Araújo was the one who kicked off the work on the farm. Known as the “tree collector” for 30 years he carried out the work of planting trees, protecting springs and recovering the soil.
Without even knowing it, it was with this initiative that Olivar began the work of one of the most distinguished in the world. Before coffee, the land, at high altitude and with mild temperatures, was destined for the cultivation of wood. It was only in 1996, under the command of Henrique Sloper, that coffee began to be implemented on the farm.
“My grandfather wanted to diversify production and not just rely on wood. We planted fruit and coffee came along at that time. Here, coffee was born with a quality bias”, says the businessman, recalling that at the time Espírito Santo was already it was strongly recognized for its production, but still with prominence only with commodity coffee.
The quality bias, cultivated in an area that was born with environmental concerns, also started from a project aimed at producing a grain without agrochemicals, which was 100% organic. A few years later, the farm started to practice the cultivation of biodynamic coffee, which has better quality, resistance to pests and enriches the soil where it is grown.
“My grandfather always had this idea of not using agrochemicals on the land. Here there is a lot of organic matter, the soil is different. My grandfather was from Ceará who was up to 101 years old and who had an entrepreneurial vision. We had a lot of support from agronomists and Incaper itself”, he comments.
With limited information for over 20 years and with a focus on achieving quality and sustainability standards, coffee’s beginnings were marked by a series of trial and error on the farm. At least nine cultivars were tested.
“The idea at the beginning was always to have a more spaced out production, not concentrated due to the difficulty of the harvest since here everything is manual, there is no way to mechanize it. And also to have a more extended cash flow during the year”, he explains. Over there, the crop harvest goes from April to mid-November.
The first certifications from the Farm arrived in the first years of coffee production. In 1999, Camocim was certified by the Biodynamic Institute (IBD), whose main objective is to guarantee the authenticity of production without any chemical additives.
But what about Jacu, when did it start?
The super special coffee is a response to the work of agroforestry. “It was totally unintentional. The bird already inhabited this region, it has this characteristic of living in the forest and as it was an agroforestry here, with coffee inside, it became the ideal environment for it to breed. So we have a work to preserve the animal “, comments.
Unintentionally, the bird also became a “harvest alert”, since where it is eating the fruits, it means that the coffee is ripe. “It serves to spread coffee throughout the region. And here, as it is an organic crop, you are not introducing any chemical into the bird, which is important for the preservation of the species”, he adds.
The harvest indication at the beginning was actually a problem. Henrique noticed that Jacu’s attacks happened frequently and always in the best fruits. The solution came when Henrique remembered a coffee produced in Indonesia, Kopi Luwak, also made from grains extracted from the faeces of another animal, the civet.
It was from that moment on that he began to look for ways to bring the practice to his farm, minimize impacts, keep the jacu in its natural habitat and even ensure more profitability.
As this is an extremely selective harvest, the volume is limited. According to the businessman, three to four tons of this type of coffee are harvested. The first export was bound for London and at the time, Ibama had to issue a certificate proving good practices and especially the preservation of the animal for coffee cultivation.
“The difference in Indonesia is that here they are free, the space has become a reproduction area for the species”, he comments. The bird that is present throughout the Atlantic Forest appears on the farm in the winter period, for reproduction, which ended up coinciding with the maturation period.
Jacu coffee is mainly destined for the international market with added value that draws attention. In Brazil, a kilo of coffee is negotiated at around R$ 1,000.00, but in Europe the sale can reach R$ 6,000.00. Jacu coffee is nowadays found in the best coffee shops in the world.
Henrique was also president of BSCA, representing Brazil around the world
At the head of Fazenda Camocim, Henrique Sloper has been directly involved with the specialty coffee market in Brazil for years. The businessman, who was also president of the Brazilian Association of Specialty Coffees (BSCA) reinforces that this is currently the way for the country to continue conquering space in the current scenario: good agricultural practices and results from the cup.
Henrique recognizes the country’s progress in quality production, emphasizing once again that this consumer is in fact increasingly demanding. Traceability, certification and transparent communication are more than ever essential factors for the producer to gain space and, above all, added value to the product.
“This is the path, good practices and conscious production, there is no other. Today we are a reference in the region and our doors are open to anyone who wants to know our serious work of sustainability, quality and enhancement of the coffee chain”, he concludes.