The cool, green hills of Sul de Minas provide ideal conditions for coffee growing and produce some of Brazil’s finest beans. The region is known locally as ‘Vertentes’ because it forms a border between two very important basins in Brazil: the Grande River Basin (which runs to the south) and the São Francisco River Basin (which runs to the northeast).

Back in the 1920s, Avelino Ferreira de Aguiar and Maria Julia de Paiva Aguiar settled in the area that is now Fazenda do Cruzeiro after a fire devastated their inherited home. Avelino was already an established coffee grower and was constantly seeking new innovative tools for his farm. He was the first in the region to have electricity, a telephone, and running water. Not only that, but he established a state-of-the-art coffee processing facility that was quite rare at the time.

Avelino unfortunately passed away in 1931, but his widow, Maria Julia, managed the farm to carry on his work. Their first-born son, José Ananias, also helped his mother with the coffee farm. His great grandson, Ivan Junqueira Ribeiro, the current owner of Fazenda do Cruzeiro, unified some fragmented family farms in 2006 to create one expansive estate.

Ivan and his siblings used to spend weekends and holidays at the farm with their grandparents, solidifying his love for coffee and the farming behind it. He currently lives in Belo Horizonte, the state capital of Minas Gerais with his wife and two daughters. He hopes to give them the same experiences he had as a child, growing up within the coffee trees.

Not only does this farm have a wonderful family history, but it is filled with native flora and fauna. 394 hectares of Fazenda do Cruzeiro is preserved as native wilderness, helping to bring a harmonious balance between coffee production and the surrounding ecosystems.

This is a little different to your 'classic' Brazil profile. Juicy, sweet and syrupy with notes of Chocolate, Lime and Raspberry Jam.