The ninth annual Brazil Força Café Competition has come to a successful conclusion! Stockler, our sister export company in Brazil, and the coffee non-profit Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung (HRNS) do Brasil created the competition — which culminates in a global, online auction — as a platform for celebrating outstanding smallholder lots, by giving them the attention, market access and price premiums they deserve.
Many customers who have purchased these coffees eagerly await the competition each year, whether by bidding in the auction or enjoying lots that InterAmerican wins for inventory.
Força Café is many months and countless hours in the making. Smallholder farmers submit their coffees to NKG Stockler for review, and this year the QC team in Stockler’s Varginha headquarters lab received approximately 130 submissions combined from the regions of Matas de Minas, Campo das Vertentes and Circuito das Águas. From these, the team selected the 12 top lots, respectively, from the natural processed and pulped-natural categories.
In 2022, an additional category was also added: microlots. This came in response to from farmers who were eager to join the competition but had less than the 10 required bags to compete. In the microlots category, 40 entries were whittled down to 12 finalists.
All included, the final 36 lots moved forward and were cupped by an international panel of judges. Composed primarily of exporters and roasters, this group came together for an intensive calibration and cupping to rank the finalists, and we’re incredibly grateful for the time and talents they contributed to the effort!
Força Cafe in Person Again
After two years of remote execution, participants were able to once again gather in Brazil, to bolster the community that produces this event and honor the winners in person. Michel Brod – roaster for Aero Coffee Roasters in Northborough, MA – was one such judge. He said he was grateful to visit the beautiful Fazenda Lagoa, and to meet the producers who participated in the auction – and to deliver coffee from his roastery shelves, purchased during last year’s auction, to the producers who grew it, namely Rafael Bastos da Silva and Carlos Eduardo de Souza, when they met at the awards ceremony.
Michel also delivered a set of green samples upon his return to the states. These went to InterAmerican trader Gerra Harrigan, who has spearheaded InterAmerican’s involvement with the auction for the past five years. Together, they cupped the 12 Brazil Naturals category finalist lots stateside, and Gerra bid on their top choices. We’re thrilled to share that InterAmerican won most of the lots that excited them most!
The farm of Rosimeire Aparecida Guerra, one of this year’s winning producers from Circuito das Aguas.
Coffee for Community
Many of the coffees that came through the finalist round have become familiar to us over the years, which is evidence of the return the auction provides to producers. Every dollar spent during the auction, above the initial purchase price, goes directly back to the producers, many of whom invest the winnings back into their farms, elevating the quality further. Rosangela Moura Alves, one such repeat finalist, shared, “I want to say that our work is far from over, and what we’ve done together so far has already made a huge difference in my life and that of my family. Let’s roll up our sleeves and continue this journey with more dedication than ever before!”
The impact goes beyond the individual producers. We opted to pay an additional premium on each lot to benefit Casa da Crianca, a community center that offers crucial youth services and adult classes to the coffee community of San Antônio do Amparo. (Read more about how this program came to be, and how the premiums impact the community.)
InterAmerican’s Auction Winnings
Our warmest thanks again to our colleagues at Stockler, to the HRNS do Brasil team, and to everyone who participated in making this competition a reality! We expect these gorgeous lots to ship in January for a February arrival. Please speak with your trader today about reserving some!
Deivison Welques Pereira
3rd place, 28 bags
Coffee area: 6 hectares
Region: Matas de Minas
Variety: Red Catucai 785
Notes: Blackberry, graham cracker, sweet. Good structure, lactic body, well balanced.
Rosimeire Aparecida Guerra
4th place, 25 bags
Coffee area: 8 hectares
Region: Circuito das Aguas
Variety: Yellow Catuaí
Notes: Peach, strawberry, tropical fruit punch, floral. Nectar like body, complex.
Jessica da Silva Mariano
5th place, 21 bags
Coffee area: 6 hectares
Region: Matas de Minas
Variety: Red Catucai 785
Notes: Sweet, tea-like body, lemon, crisp, juicy, elegant.
Jose Claudio Pimentel
7th place, 28 bags
Coffee area: 15 hectares
Region: Circuito das Aguas Region
Variety: Red Catuaí
Notes: Sweet, chocolate, stone fruit, juicy, bright finish.
*All bag quantities are the original amounts; please ask about current availability.
Pictured above: Deivison Welques Pereira, 3rd place winner. “My biggest dream is to have my coffee recognized abroad. I hope that by tasting my coffee, people will know that it was made with great care and hard work.”
