My connection to coffee started with my big brother, who moved across the continents to live in Brazil. Soon after, my parents decided to buy a small coffee farm in Minas Gerais, where the land is known for its excellent coffee beans. Every single year, my family and I would make the long journey to visit my brother who stayed at the farm to see the progress of the hard labor. These weren't vacations; they were immersions that shaped me completely.

From a young age, I was exposed to the honest truth of the industry: the hard work, the inherent risks, and the daily challenges of coffee farming. But I also saw the profound good my family was doing. They were dedicated to building sustainable farming practices and actively enabling the local community, improving both infrastructure and working conditions.

I learned to walk among the coffee trees, inspect the delicate harvest, and spend hours horseback riding through the fields of Minas Gerais with my father, my mother, my brother and my sister, absorbing the secrets of the terroir. This lifetime of experience instilled in me a deep, personal respect for this exceptional product and an intimate knowledge of what defines true quality.