Meet Laura Junqueira, a third-generation coffee farmer who, alongside her father Roberto Machado (“Beto”), runs Fazenda São José Condado. This 150-hectare farm, rich in history, is nestled in the Mantiqueira Region of Minas Gerais, Brazil, just outside Santa Rita do Sapucaí. Originally established in the mid-1800s, the farm boasts a legacy that predates the Junqueira family, complete with an original farmhouse and the first coffee plantings that still shape its story today.
Fazenda São José spans an impressive 508 hectares, most of which remains untouched natural forest. The coffee operation itself requires a dedicated team of 22 full-time employees year-round, with an additional 100 seasonal workers during harvest. At an altitude of 1,200 meters, the farm is home to a variety of coffee cultivars, including Mundo Novo, Acaiá, Catuaí Amarelo, Catuaí Vermelho, Arara, and Catucaí.
While many Brazilian farms have shifted to mechanical harvesting, the Junqueira family remains committed to the craft of selective handpicking. By carefully selecting only ripe cherries, they ensure the highest quality coffee, honoring their heritage and dedication to producing exceptional beans.
Fazenda São José Condado is more than a coffee farm—it’s a testament to the Junqueira family’s passion for preserving tradition while delivering outstanding coffee, one harvest at a time.
It’s a pleasantly simple coffee, tied to bittersweetness, and subtle top note hints, such as honey-nut, zucchini bread, sesame cookie, and a faint dried apple note.
Available at Guest House, Winter 2024-25
This coffee is sourced from the Sidama Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union (SCFCU) which was founded in 2001 to represent coffee producing cooperatives located throughout the Sidama Zone of Southern Ethiopia. As of 2013, the SCFCU has grown to represent 47 cooperatives and 80,000 farmers making the SCFCU the second largest coffee producing cooperative union in Ethiopia. These cooperatives are located at altitudes of 1,800 meters and above.
This coffee is sourced from family owned farms organized around Cooperativa Multifuncional Family Coffee R.L. (COMULFAC), a cooperative founded in 2013. COMULFAC members live within the department of Jinotega, Nicaragua. Farmers cultivate coffee on farms that average 4 to 100 acres in size and they use their own micro-mill to process harvested cherries, which allows for meticulous care in depulping, fermenting, and drying the coffee. COMULFAC was established with assistance from J&M Family (a privately owned export company in Jinotega), which has been purchasing coffee from these farmers for several years. The idea behind establishing a cooperative model was to help the farmers organize their efforts and combine their resources to develop social projects aimed at improving the quality of life in their communities.