Black Farmers In Brazil Changing Views On Coffee Production

Nova Iguaçu/Nova Iguaçu, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd May, 2024) Raphael Brandao beams with pride as he describes the high-end Brazilian coffee he produces with beans sourced exclusively from Black farmers in a country where many still associate the product with slavery.

The 31-year-old buys his coffee beans solely from farms owned by Afro-descendents and says his goal is to "reverse this logic that Black people" like himself "are mere laborers."

"In my own way, I am trying to make historical reparations," Brandao told AFP at his roastery in Nova Iguacu, a poor suburb of Rio de Janeiro.

Four years ago, he launched his brand Cafe di Preto.

By 2022 he sold 800 kilograms (about 1,700 Pounds), the following year 1.4 tons. This year he hopes to increase that to more than two tons following a 20-percent sales increase in the first quarter alone.

The logo for Cafe di Preto is a raised Black fist clutching a coffee branch, and the different flavor lines are each named after important Black women of Brazilian history.