CHICAGO, May 3, 2024 – Presenting the coffee offerings of Brazil and the Cerrado Mineiro region and emphasising the production of specialty beans through sustainable practices, the Cerrado Coffee Growers’ Cooperative [ Expocacer ] is launching at the Specialty Coffee Expo, an exclusive coffee and will also introduce a range of drinks with different flavours and aromas. The fair, one of the largest in the sector, takes place in Chicago, USA, from 12 to 14 April.
“One of the novelties this year is the launch of the coffee from Natália Naimeg, a cooperative member and champion of Elas Festival, which seeks to recognize and reward the region’s talented female coffee growers. It’s a 90-point drink of the Catucai 2SL variety with an explosion of flavours. The initiative is an important step towards promoting gender equality and highlighting the contribution of women in the world of specialty coffee. The drink will also be launched simultaneously at the Pedestrian Coffee brewery in Chicago,” said Sandra Moraes, Expocacer’s Specialty Coffee Manager.
The Cooperative will be at booth 1856, offering a wide range of cupping sessions and coffee pairings with traditional food from the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, such as rapadura, cheese, dulce de leche, dulce de papaya, and guava. Visitors will have the opportunity to try the specialty coffee produced by Expocacer members, in ten different flavours and aromas, from Topázio, to Arara, Paraíso, Catuai, Yellow Bourbon and Catucai 2SL.
“During the cupping sessions, consumers will have the chance to enjoy our launch and a selection of coffee with notes of chocolate, yellow fruit, red fruit, and floral nuances, offering a rich and unique sensory experience. We are very happy to be able to give consumers this opportunity, as well as giving them the chance to meet the producers, find out where the coffee comes from and the sustainable way it is produced,” said Ítalo Henrique, Expocacer’s commercial director.
Another highlight of this edition was the participation of one of Expocacer’s cooperative farms, Fazenda Três Meninas, owned by producers Paula and Marcelo Urtado, which was a finalist in the Specialty Coffee Association’s [SCA] Sustainability Award. The prize recognizes for-profit and non-profit organizations that promote sustainability in the coffee sector and, at the same time, inspire others to move towards sustainable coffee growth.
“This nomination was a conquest. It came to recognize all the work that our members have been doing for years for ESG coffee growing, which is also aligned with a new way of consuming, where the buyer is more aware and considers the origin and whether the product is produced in a sustainable way,” said Simão Pedro de Lima, Expocacer’s executive director.
The Specialty Coffee Expo has 575 exhibitors presenting the most innovative products and services on the market. More than 12,000 visitors are expected. In the Expo hall, participants will be able to interact with professionals from the entire chain, including producers, importers, and baristas, as well as connect and form new business relationships with buyers and sellers of green coffee.
“We recently opened a logistics hub in the United States, which is our biggest coffee buyer, and the vast majority of the beans we send there are specialty. Our plan is to send one container a month, each with around 320 60-kilogramme bags of coffee. This project aims to boost the economy and consumption of specialty coffee, which is growing increasingly, as well as shortening processes,” said the Executive Director.
The Hub is expected to increase sales in the US market by 10 percent to 15 percent in the first year. Global consumption of Brazilian specialty coffee has grown consistently at an annual rate of 12 percent in recent years, according to the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation [Embrapa].
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