We’ve been buying Brazilian coffee from Fazenda Inglaterra for over 10 years, and it’s a farm that we’re very proud to be working with. The owner is our good friend, Stephen Hurst.
To tell the story of Inglaterra, we'll hand over to Stephen to tell you how he came to own 'Inglaterra' in his own words:
“Maybe it had always been an idea in the back of my mind – so a couple of years ago when some friends in Brazil mentioned that a small coffee farm was for sale, I had a look.
The farm's name (Fazenda Toca Da Onca) means 'hiding place of a small wildcat'. The locals now call the farm 'Inglaterra'. The previous owners had abandoned it. So, we had to start again, almost from scratch. Some surviving coffee trees were pruned right back and the coffee that you are now drinking is that re-growth from the original old trees.
The farm is located near the lovely spa town of Poços de Caldas in the coffee-growing heartlands of Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. The farm's elevation is 950–1,300 metres, and it has rich soil. It's on the edge of an ancient caldera/super volcano, whose outline can be seen on satellite images. 50% of the farm is virgin Mata Atlantica forest and as long as I own it, it will stay that way. I am replanting some areas with the help of my local friends Gabriel and Cristiano, without whose assistance this project would never have started."
We love the work that Stephen’s doing, and can’t wait to see what comes next from Inglaterra!
