Stokes Brazil Trip 2025

Mike, Training Manager at Stokes Tea & Coffee

Intro & Background

At the beginning of the year, we had an incredible opportunity to visit some of the coffee farms in Brazil.

This invitation was extended to use by Cal Brough of Cals Coffee, who we work closely with at Stokes. Cals Coffee is a green coffee distributer, who promotes and sells coffee from his family’s farm in Brazil.

We started working with Cal back in 2021, when he visited our roastery with some coffee samples. Cal’s enthusiasm for coffee and his family business was evident and to me, was very infectious. After trying his samples, we loved the coffee from Bom Jesus and chose to add it to our specialty range.

In October of 2023, we approached Cal about providing a Brazilian coffee to replace the Santos in our long-established Heritage Blend. We chose to use the coffee from Agua Santa, after comparing it with samples Cal sent from his Uncle Paulo’s farm.

Skip to early 2025, where our trip to Brazil to visit Cal and his family’s farm was arranged! On this trip, was Nick, Stokes Managing Director, Sarah, Stokes Sales Director and myself (Mike, Stokes Training Manager). We were excited to experience first-hand the beginning of the coffee journey and what it goes through to get to us, with Cal as our host and guide.

As a barista trainer and coffee enthusiast for over 15 years, I had always talked and taught about the process from plant to raw coffee seed and what was involved, but I’d never had the opportunity to see it for myself so, I jumped at the opportunity!

Day 1

Arrival

Brazil really was an unknown to me. I had very little expectations and as my dad pointed out, I would be the first in our family to travel across the equatorial line! After an 11-hour flight, we were excited to be greeted by Cal, but the journey wasn’t over yet, as the city of Franca (where Cals Uncles farm is situated) was a 5-hour drive from the airport.

While driving, I was surprised at how familiar the country looked; long motorways across agricultural land full of crops reminded me very much of home (aside from the birds being more colourful and our sporadic woods being replaced with tropical forests!). It was obvious that Brazil, like Britain, had an abundance of well-maintained farmland. Even the rest-stops reminded me a little of our service stations. It was at the rest-stops that I was introduced to the style of coffee the Brazilians drink; mostly espresso-based but coming from an automatic machine. The coffee was very dark roasted, slightly over-extracted (tasting bitter), and weak.

Franca- Agua Santa Dry Milling Facility

When arriving at Aqua Santa Farm and going through the security gates (the farmers take protecting their land very seriously), we were greeted by Uncle Paulo (Cal’s Godfather) and his wife, Aunt Rita, at their house on the farm.

Cal was excited to take us to the brand-new dry milling and storage facility that opened at the beginning of the year. After nearly 17hours travelling we were finally going to see what we came here for! The excitement was real as I stood at the entrance to what I can only describe as a coffee version of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.

The Dry milling facility was an impressive site, ready to house and sort through thousands of tons of processed green coffee. It was then I realized what a big operation this was. Huge silos sitting and waiting for the first crop of coffee to enter. This facility is where the coffee is sorted and graded, and I will admit, it was not what I expected! When I am training and trying to describe the processing, I talk about the farmer selectively picking the harvest and sifting out the bad cherries before processing and drying. Although this is true for a lot of countries, in Brazil production is on such a big scale that it can take them the full 3-month season just to complete a single harvest. They can’t worry about selectively picking and sorting; to make the most out of their crop, they must take everything. Once it is sorted, they allow the buyer to determine the quality of the coffee that they purchase, and the lower grades are mixed with the higher until the price suits.

At the beginning of the tour, we were introduced to their quality control expert who was also a qualified Q-grader. It is his job to sample the coffees pre and post roasting and evaluate the coffee. He proceeded to demonstrate how he took samples of the coffee, then how he graded and roasted it. We were also shown the small, old-fashioned sample roasters used to evaluate the quality of the roasted coffee. Finally, we toured the facility to watch the journey the coffee took through the different stages of sorting.

It was not only the size and scale of the operation that was impressive, but also the equipment used. Huge shakers sorted the denser seeds from the less dense, and huge vibrating sieves dividing and separating seeds out into specific sizes. However, probably the most impressive thing was the colour sorting machine. This analysed the colour of the seed by dropping them through a laser, which was set to identify slight colour deviations in the seed and if one didn’t meet the set criteria, it was blasted with a direct shot of air and removed.

After the seeds are sorted and graded, they’re weighed into large bags, tagged for identity and stored in a temperature and humidity-controlled warehouse. They are then ready to be bought and shipped anywhere in the world.

At the end of the tour, the workers invited us to have a walk around their nature reserve. In Brazil, to preserve the diverse nature and prevent over farming, it is a legal requirement for farmers to leave 20% of their land untouched as a nature reserve. The workers at the plant were very proud of their ‘little patch of heaven’ and it was here that I had my first view of a Brazilian rainforest.

We were then taken to our rooms, which were situated in the security building and had a watch tower that gave us a full 360-degree view around the farm. On one side, was the drying patios and processing facility and on the other was the vast coffee fields of Agua Santa. What a beautiful place.

Agua Santa Farm

Unfortunately, we arrived about a month before the fruit was in season, so the majority of the crops weren’t ripe yet, and the farms were in the process of prepping ready for harvest. Although we were too early to watch the harvest, we were still able to see the plants and their abundance of fruit, some just starting to ripen. I decided to pick a ripened cherry and open it up to revel the seeds. It was here I took the opportunity to taste the fruit, for the first time ever. I had always heard that the fruit was very sweet, and I can tell you this is true, although there is very little fruit on a coffee cherry which leads way to the bitter taste of the (tougher than expected) skin. Quite an experience.

After settling in, we were again met by Cal and Uncle Paulo, ready to take us for a tour of the farms processing facility. Here, he showed us the step-by-step journey the coffee cherries go through after harvest. We had a look at where the harvested cherries are stored and how they were sorted into size and ripeness. Usually, the ripest cherries would be sifted out and would get wet pulped (skins removed), ready to be washed. The less ripe cherries were separated and would go straight to the patios for the natural process, as it would allow time through drying to further develop and improve the sweetness of the coffee.

In the wash station, we were shown around the big vats that would hold the de-pulped seeds, these vats would fill with water to remove the remaining fruit. The seeds are then sent to the big industrial dryers, to help get them down to their ideal 12% moisture content quickly and accurately.

It was fascinating to see such an organised facility and see how efficient and well designed the process is. I can only imagine the excitement of seeing the whole process happen from harvest to seed, with coffee seeds moving around the different devises.

Once the seeds have been removed and dried, they would then be transported by truck, to the dry mill facility we were shown around earlier. Overall, a very impressive operation, and a fascinating insight into how coffee is processed on a large scale.

Day 2

Bom Jesus farm

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise over the coffee fields at Agua Santa, then got ready for our trip down to Bom Jesus farm. This is where we met Flavia, who co-owns the farm with her husband Gabriel. Bom Jesus farm is very much a family business; their two sons Gabriel Jr and Lucas also worked on the farm and were preparing to take it over when their parents eventually retire, to keep the farm independent.

Flavia was very hospitable and after our introductions and a coffee, we were invited out to see the production facilities at the farm. The drying patios were the first noticeable expanse, with coffee trees surrounding the area. All the buildings also had these beautiful murals painted on them, mostly of colourful plants and bird’s native to the region. It looked incredible. On the patios was a patch that had a sample of under-ripe coffee cherries laid out, which was used to assess when the best time to harvest would be. This can be a crucial decision because as I described earlier, they take everything from the plant at once, so it is important to know when most of the fruit is at its ripest.

We continued the tour around the processing equipment and Flavia even had a worker turn on some of the sorting equipment, so we could get an idea of how it worked. Unlike the Agua Santa farm, all the production is done on the farm, including the sorting and dry milling.

They then took us to their quality sampling area and showroom. Up on the walls, there were several framed awards and shelves full of trophies, displayed proudly. Cal explained that Bom Jesus farm continues to win awards for being such a model farm, due to their contributions to the farming industry. In the corner of the showroom, was a beautiful bright red and Brazilian made Carmomaq Drum Roaster. Under the name ‘Labareda’, Bom Jesus roast their own coffee, and they have their own premium roasted coffee line that they sell!

Next, Flavia drove us around the farm to see the coffee fields. This was really eye opening as Bom Jesus was a victim to the harsh frost that happened in Brazil around 5 years ago. Although they managed to save the majority of their crops, at least 30% of the coffee trees were lost. As we were driving around, we were able to see the now empty fields. Flavia explained how they were now preparing the ground by planting soy, which introduced the correct nitrates into the soil for the new coffee crops. The fields would be ready for planting this year. It was a stark reminder that coffee plants are not the easiest crops to take care of, a lot of care needs to be undertaken to be a successful farmer. I was told by Cal later that day that a lot of coffee farmers have been converting their farms over to sugar production, as the payoff is much more immediate and the crop is easier to manage. A scary thought for any coffee lover.

Later in the tour, we were taken to a farmer’s meet in the middle of one of the fields. This is where Farmers around the region are invited onto the farm to observe and gain knowledge on ideal farming standards from the Bom Jesus farm. This is something that Gabriel and Flavia encourage often; a lot of their passion is in education. Flavia said she devotes a lot of her spare time to her charity, teaching underprivileged children the skills you need to work in agriculture, so they would be able to get work and ultimately their own independence. Something I admire, having a similar passion myself, training coffee skills.

As we came to the end of the tour and said farewell to Flavia, I couldn’t help but be amazed by not only the farm and its’ beauty, but the obvious dedication and passion from Flavia and her family.

Day 3

We spent the third day in Franca with Uncle Paulo. This is where we got to see Brazil from the air! A trip in a small private jet he rents with Gabriel to travel between each of the farms. Uncle Paulo was responsible for 6 coffee farms across Brazil, so this was the most efficient way for him to be able to get to each farm quickly.

The plane allowed us to see the farms in a completely unique way. One thing I remember Cal pointing out, was that whilst one minute it was coffee fields as far as the eye could see, eventually it became a landscape of sugar fields. Sugar is big business for Brazil, generally not grown for consumption but for making biofuel.

In the afternoon, I had asked if we could spend some more time in Agua Santa and have a tour around the coffee fields. Cal happily obliged and picked us up in his truck to drive us round and answer all our burning questions.

Halfway around the farm, as Cal was showing us the new infant coffee plants they had just planted this year, we were greeted by the farm manager, Lili. Lili spoke to us about the lack of rain Brazil had experienced this year, he explained how big an effect this can have on their crop. They had a brand-new irrigation system implemented at the farm to deliver water to the young trees more efficiently, which was fed from a river running through the farm. The water from the river was collected in a reservoir and pumped around the farm to feed the crops. Lili was very excited to show us the new control center and how he operated the pumps to send water to different areas. He also showed us where the source of the water came from which was under an incredible canopy of wild bamboo.

We spent some more time at the farm, taking photographs and learning about the plants. We had a look at the harvesting machinery and the equipment the farm used for general crop maintenance throughout the year. It was clear to us that Lili was very passionate about his job and that taking care of the crops took a lot of care and dedication. Cal described Lili as ‘one in a million’, stating how good, dedicated farmers were hard to find.

Day 4

After breakfast, we packed up and said goodbye to Uncle Paulo, Rita and the Agua Santa Farm ready for a 6-hour trip back past Sao Paulo to Santos. This is where we saw the famous port, known as one of the biggest and busiest in Brazil. It is this port where the majority of Brazil’s coffee is exported from the country and sent across the world. Santos is steeped in coffee history (excuse the pun). It started as a settlement for the Portuguese in 1546, then expanded and developed, with the prominent wealth of the city coming from the import and export during the 20^th century. Its export predominantly being coffee, which is clear to see as you walk around the city. There were several murals depicting historical images of coffee exportation. In fact, the coffee museum we would visit the next day was the same building where world coffee prices were once negotiated.

Due to heavy traffic, we arrived in Santos much later than expected so we had some food and booked ourselves into the hotel, ready for the next morning’s adventure.

Day 5

In the morning, Cal wanted to take us up to where the settlers built the first chapel on a hillock in honor of Santa Catarina, as this was at one of the highest points in the city.  From the top floor of the building, housing a tram that transports you from the bottom of the hillock to the top, is an incredible 360-degree view of all of Santos. Here you could clearly see the size of the port and the thousands of cargo containers being either stored, moved or on ships leaving and entering the bay.

Later that day, we visited the coffee museum, to ‘nerd out’ about coffee. After this, Cal then took us to a popular specialty coffee shop called Rei Do Cafe. The cafe served some of the nicest coffee we had every week!

Santos had the feeling of an old city, quite a few of the buildings were old and beautifully built, but likely due to a lack of maintenance, a lot of them were tired and a little run down which gave it an interesting industrial feel. As I mentioned earlier, there were also some beautiful murals painted on the buildings depicting the proud history of the city.

For me, it was wonderful to see the end point of the coffee journey, meeting the passionate farmers who looked after and cared for the coffee with so much dedication to get it to this point. I found myself considering how this is the point from when we, as a coffee roaster, purchase the coffee and continue the rest of its’ journey. At Stokes, we proceed with just as much dedication and care, aiming to produce coffee that our customers will enjoy.

Day 6

Our last day was a journey back to Sao Paulo to meet Cals’ parents and then a trip to the airport. Funnily enough, it was today that it rained! The torrential rain, characteristic of Brazil, brought our journey to a halt in traffic. However, a thought went out to the farmers, who surely will have been celebrating for the water they were in so much need of for the past few months. What a brilliant end to our adventure.

Thank you, Brazil, for such a fantastic time; thank you to the farms for showing us your passion and dedication; thank you to Stokes for presenting this opportunity and allowing me the time to travel and learn all about the product I have dedicated a good portion of my life to. Finally, a massive thank you to Cal for being the most amazing host throughout the trip and taking very good care of us!

Mike