While Maria Soraia’s family has 35 years experience in coffee, it was not until 2017 that they received their first premium for specialty. Coffee starts with her uncle, who used to plant coffee in the city of Serra do Salitre. At that time Soraia worked with dairy cattle, but made the decision to get into coffee in 1999 with her uncle’s guidance. Motivated by the recognition she began receiving,, Soraia has been pursuing her own education in coffee since then, focusing on post-harvesting techniques and how to apply them on her farm.
Unique for her region, coffee on Soraia’s farm is picked by hand, not by a harvester. In this and every other way, Soraia is a careful producer, following up on everything that happens on her farm, from crop management to processing and employee development.
Her son Augusto works with her. Together they have brought in awards from Cup of Excellence, the Minas Gerais State Coffee Quality Awards, Cerrado Mineiro Region Coffee Awards and Florada Contest – the last one focused on women producers. Soraia is very excited about having her coffee in the USA for the first time and is already eagerly looking forward to the next harvest.