Francisco and Manuel Lotufo


Minas Gerais, Brazil

  • PRODUCERS
  • Francisco and Manuel Lotufo
  • ELEVATION
  • 1,200 m.a.s.l.
  • FARM SIZE
  • 664.5 hectares

In 1820, Joaquim Bernardes da Costa Junqueira gained a large area of land near Poços de Caldas, which became Fazenda Barreiro. Coffee was not planted until the late 1800s by Joaquim's son, Agostinho. The farm is known for its rich history, culture, cattle breeding program, and eucalyptus farm. The area's rolling hills, climate, and soil make it perfect for high-quality coffee.

The great-grandson, Francisco Otávio Lotufo, has focused on environmentally responsible coffee growing and providing support for the farm's staff and the surrounding ecosystem. During harvest, the coffee cherries are picked by hand or machine, washed, and sorted. The freshly pulped coffee is dried on patios and covered terraces before being mechanically dried and hulled. The sorting facilities at Fazenda Barreiro ensure high quality and consistency.

Mr. Francisco Lotufo and his son Manuel Lotufo, are a formidable team. Manuel has recently joined the administration of the farm, helping to modernize and improve facilities. One of the improvements in recent years is the construction of the roasting and sensory analysis room on the farm itself, where all the batches produced are tested before processing and selling, certifying the quality and seeking the best purpose for each one.

The most recent investment is the complete replacement of the wet mill to process the coffee in a more optimized and efficient way. In addition, the complete renovation of one of the patios was also carried out, as well as the construction of new suspended beds using resources and improvements already existing on the farm, which were not being used. Another practise introduced is the use of compost produced on the farm helping with waste management and reduces spending on fertilisers. 

Concerned with quality: the farm has a state-of-the-art coffee infrastructure, with wet milling, separation, and pulping facilities, two rotary driers and two vertical driers, 4,500m2 of patios, 700m2 of suspended covered terraces, and the latest equipment to process and ventilate the beans. 

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