A push is underway this year by the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association to link specialty coffee buyers directly with new Brazil coffee sellers at next month’s Espaço Café Brasil, part of a weeklong series of coffee festivities in Belo Horizonte next month.  Though universally known as the world’s largest producer and exporter of green coffee (about 50,000,000 bags in 2012), Brazil is under-appreciated as a producer of high quality specialty coffees, which BSCA is addressing head-on with this and other soon-to-be-announced programs.

Brazil Coffee Direct Trade

In a new initiative to develop direct trade relationships between buyers and sellers of Brazil’s specialty coffees, a cupping exchange at the 8th annual Espaço Café Brasil event in September will allow coffee buyers from around the world to taste a wide selection of available coffees while meeting in person with the farmers behind them.

The concept, spearheaded by the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA) and funded by small business development agency SEBRAE, is to put a multinational audience of buyers in direct contact with farmers who may otherwise not have access to overseas specialty markets.  Similarly, the event offers the international buying community an opportunity to meet new potential supplier-partners in person and sample over 100 fresh crop coffees at one convenient location.

“This effort will be a win-win opportunity for both our farmers and international visitors,” stated BSCA Executive Director Vanusia Nogueira.  “Brazil is a large country with numerous coffee farms, many of which are off-the-radar of the international buying community,” Ms. Nogueira continued.  “We believe bringing all parties together in one place and allowing them to do business on their own terms will help to foster new relationships that will benefit buyers and sellers alike for years to come.”

Cuppings and producer meetings will be conducted daily during the operating hours of the 8th annual Espaço Café Brasil in Belo Horizonte, September 9th-12th 2013.