The Minamihara family have been in Brazil for 4 generations, originally emigrating from Japan in the 1930’s.

Brazil

Caparaó

This is the second time we have been able to purchase coffee from the Minamihara family and their farm in the Alta Mogiana region of Brazil. The first generation of Minamiharas arrived from Japan in the 1930’s, always intending to work with coffee. In 1973, the second generation of Minamiharas purchased the land that became their current farm, just outside the small town of Cristais Paulista in the far North-East of São Paulo state. It was here, that they shaped their approach to agriculture, with the principles of biodynamics in mind. They have a holistic approach to soil health, using natural additions and composts in order to maintain a balance of minerals, fungi and bacteria, leading to rich and healthy soils, and plants that can easily pull nutrients from them. Although the plants here grow at a rather low altitude of about 900 masl, they are some of the healthiest we have seen on our travels in coffee.

Last time we visited, Getulio Minamihara and his son Anderson were eager to show us their nearly 150 hectare farm, introducing us to several varietals of coffee we hadn’t come across anywhere else on the coffee belt. Many modern cultivars have been bred to respond to chemical NPK fertilisers, and don’t yield as well when faced with the Minamiharas’ more holistic approach to agriculture. We were also treated to some of the finest avocado we have ever tasted, fresh from the shade trees that permeate the entire area of the farm. It was a truly memorable experience; we’re more than excited to have been able to secure coffee from this unique farm again after such a long wait.