A Cup of Joe

Cigarettes.  McDonald’s hamburgers.  Coffee.

I pride myself in being open to new experiences and trying new things... but those are three things that I’ve never tried in my entire life.

However, earlier this month I visited a coffee plantation in Brazil and decided it was time to cross one of those items off the list.  No, it wasn’t the cigarettes.  Never.

Located just outside of Araguari, Minas Gerais, eight hours north of São Paulo, the coffee farm I visited belongs to José Montini and Marta Marques.  They are uncle and aunt (or “Tio” and “Tia” in Portuguese) of my girlfriend, Lilian.  We traveled there with Li’s parents to spend a holiday weekend in the countryside.

Their plantation is named "Santo Antonio," after the local church in Araguari.  Rows upon rows of coffee plants standing nearly 3-metres tall, as far as I could see.  The arabica beans are grown, harvested, and roasted by José, Marta, and their two sons, Bruno and Gabriel.  Bruno, 16, is old enough to take an active role in the family business, spending long days in the fields with his father, operating all sorts of heavy-machinery that I wouldn't even know how to activate.  Gabriel is only 11, but very eager to help out wherever he can.  He often tries to sneak his way into performing some of the more "adult" tasks before his parents reel him in and suggest something a little more appropriate.  Feeding the pets and farm animals, or climbing the trees to retrieve coconuts fall nicely under Gabriel's list of responsibilities.

We pulled up to the house and were greeted by a big, slobbering dog named Valente.  Then Tia Marta appeared from the farmhouse, followed by young Gabriel.  Finally, José and Bruno arrived from the fields.  José, or "Tio Zé" as he is called, shook my hand with all the force you would expect from a man who's life is dedicated to hard, honest labour.  His skin was battered red from the sun, and his clothes were covered in a thorough layer of dirt.  He spoke with great enthusiasm, at a volume as if he was always standing next to a running tractor.  I liked him immediately.

Zé quickly retrieved a bottle of "51" from the house.  Cachaça.  A Brazilian liquor made from fermented sugar cane juice.  It wasn't yet noon and he was offering me a "pinga."  Lilian informed me that it probably wasn't the first of the day for her uncle. He is famous for drinking from sun up to sun down without ever getting drunk. I assume he sweats out the alcohol before it even has a chance to take effect. We shared a couple of beverages while the family did a little catching up, then it was time to head to the fields for a tour. 

Bruno operates the equipment while Tio Zé explains some of the finer points to Li's father.  
Gabriel looks on. 

Salt of the earth.

Getting a closer look.

Here, Tio Zé is demonstrating... I have no idea, to be honest.

Valente came along for the tour.

Young coffee beans.

Lilian and I stop to pose among the rows of coffee plants.

Mmmm, smells like... dirt... and sticks.

Back at the house, Tia Marta prepared coffee for all.  The beans she used were harvested in May of this year.  After harvesting, the beans are spread out over a large, uncovered area to dry in the sun.  Thirty hours of drying time is required.  Normally, this process takes about three days under the relentless Brazilian sun, but due to an unseasonable amount of rain in June it took a remarkable forty days for this crop to dry.

I was presented with a miniature cup and saucer containing the dark-brown liquid I've heard so much about, but whose flavour has remained a mystery to me these twenty-eight years.

Everyone stood around and watched in suspense as I examined it, wafted the rich aroma towards my face, and took a deep breath...

My first cup of coffee.  Ever.

The flavour was bold, but not overpowering.  Tia Marta, as you would expect, knows how to brew the perfect cup.  I admit, I liked it more than I thought I would and I can understand why coffee is such a popular beverage, especially in the morning.  Even in the mid-afternoon I could feel the wakefulness effect coffee is so famous for.  The experience of seeing first-hand how coffee is produced in such a natural, antiquated way was enlightening.  I'll never forget my first cup.  It was worth the wait.

After lunch, Tio Zé and Bruno returned to the fields despite the fact that it was a holiday Friday in Brazil.  Brazilians work incredibly hard (a normal work-week for them is much longer than the 40-hours we're accustomed to in North America), so when a holiday comes around it is time to rejoice and relax.  I asked why the Montinis were still tending to their crop, instead of taking the day off.  Good weather was the answer.  If the weather is good enough to work, they work.  

The Marques-Montini family: José, Gabriel, Marta, and Bruno.

At least, they get to enjoy the fruits of their labour.

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