Brazil Sertãozinho Lot 574 Nº 319

This lot first featured as part of our March Coffee Club, and it made such an impression we had to share it more widely. Hailing from Sertãozinho village this is another standout natural and this one’s all about the people behind it. The community here is led by a group of incredibly driven women doing things the right way. They focus on ethical production, support one another, and reinvest their Fairtrade premiums into projects that make a real difference to day-to-day village life.

This isn’t your typical large-scale Brazilian setup. It’s a collective of over 100 smallholder farmers, each working plots of around 1–2 hectares. Coffee is grown together, harvested on steep mountain slopes, then carried down into the village where everyday spaces such as driveways, shared yards are transformed into drying patios. It’s a true community effort, with families and neighbours all pitching in. At the heart of it all are the women. They’re the backbone of the village and the reason this coffee has earned such a strong reputation for both quality and integrity.

Maria Paula Rocha plays a key role, linking the village with Fairtrade exporter, Ascarive (the sister company to Cocarive). She oversees quality control from sorting through to cupping, ensuring everything meets the required standards before export. Just as importantly, she helps ensure that Fairtrade premiums are used where they matter most.

And that’s the real difference here those premiums aren’t taken individually. They’re pooled together and invested into community projects that benefit everyone in the village.