Kaffa Handshake 8.3.2024

Our partner Kaffa Roastery organised a Kaffa Handshake event on 8.3.2024 with their long-time partner from Brazil, Pedro Gabarra from Fazenda Pinhal, as guest. We were able to hear Pedro’s thoughts on sustainable coffee farming and the methods he uses at his farm. At the end of an interesting presentation and discussion session, we were all able to move around the cupping table and taste the coffees he produces.

Long-term partnership

For a decade, Kaffa Roastery has been buying its Brazilian coffee from Pedro Gabarra Teixeira farms, including Fazenda Pinhal, a family farm. Pedro is a sixth-generation farmer in the state of Minas Gerais, just a few hours from Belo Horizonte. There is a strong emphasis on sustainability between the farms, with less than a third of the farm’s hectares dedicated to coffee production. The rest is a nature reserve and former eucalyptus forests, which are slowly being restored to their natural state.

Environment & Animals

Pedro manages the farm in his father’s footsteps, but is increasingly focused on producing high quality, sustainable and ecological crops. The coffee farm is constantly working towards social sustainability and a greener future. Pedro is developing and taking more responsibility for environmental issues, while his sister Mariana is taking on more social responsibility. Pedro also wants to emphasise transparency in the farm’s activities in the coffee growing and related areas, so that as much as possible is known about the origin of the coffee.

Rare birds are illegally captured from the rainforests of South America by poachers and sold on the illegal market. Unfortunately, there is still a high demand for smuggled birds and there is a lack of law enforcement. Pedro and Mariana are doing their part for the birds’ future by rehabilitating and releasing them back into the wild. In total, more than 1000 birds have been released over the last five years and several species of birds can be spotted on and around the farm.

Fazenda Pinhal has been awarded the title of Brazil’s most sustainable coffee farm on several occasions. The farm is shaped by Pedro’s passion for coffee and the environment. In addition to releasing birds, sustainability projects include the use of solar panels and a significant reduction in water, fertiliser, pesticide and fuel use.

Community & people

Employee wellbeing is very important to Pedro and his family, and they have offered health care contracts to their employees and are working with the local university to explore ways to make the work environment more sustainable for employees and prevent workplace accidents.

School classes are also invited to visit the coffee farm to plant coffee plants. The children get to see the bushes they planted the following year, when some of them may have died and need to be replanted. This shows the children the difficulty of growing coffee and how to appreciate nature. University students have also visited Pedro’s farm and are doing research and projects related to their degree.

The farm also holds a family day once a year, when the workers have the opportunity to show their work to those close to them. This shows the importance of living in a rural area and can shape attitudes, as people from the area tend to move to the city.

Climate change is the biggest problem that Pedro perceives as affecting the farm now and in the future. With it will come colder periods and coffee farming will change. Another challenge is the lack of new workers in the sector, as young people no longer seem interested in picking coffee berries.

You can read more about Pedro’s collaboration with Kaffa Roastery on their blog (in Finnish). It’s a pleasure to be part of delivering products that are the result of such a productive and responsible collaboration!

All of Kaffa Roastery’s classic coffees currently contain beans from Pedro’s farm.