Farm info

Fazenda Fortaleza dos Borges has been owned and operated by three generations of the Borges family in the Mantiqueira de Minas region of Brazil. Patricia Borges is part of the latest generation to lead the farm, building on the legacy left to herself and her brothers. “My grandfather was a pioneer in the production of coffee, bringing seedlings from a neighboring town in the ox cart. My father increased the planting area and when he died, in 1999, he left a cultivated field for each son.” Today, Patricia and her three brothers carry on the work of the family.

Before becoming a coffee producer herself, Patricia became a technician in chemistry and earned a degree in chemical engineering. Work and study took her away from her home in São Gonçalo do Sapucaí, though she returned in 1996 and would go on to begin her work in coffee. The work was challenging, but Patricia learned quickly and found success in her crops.

In 2012, Patricia began looking to improve management of the farm in order to produce higher quality coffee. She explains, “to make a special coffee, greater care is needed during the harvest and post-harvest.” In order to make these improvements, Patricia has focused on both the care of the land as well as the infrastructure on the farm; some changes include soil and vegetation maintenance, allowing for fewer agrochemicals to be used for production, as well as improving the farm’s headquarters and other buildings on the property.

Today, Fazenda Fortaleza dos Borges takes part in several organizations, including AMECAFE Mantiqueira, an organization with the purpose of supporting women producers in Brazil’s Mantiqueira de Minas growing region. Patricia sees these partnerships as a key part of her continued improvement as a coffee producer. She explains, “the union with the producers of the associations has shown me that it is the best way to grow. I believe that thriving is sharing! I don’t see competitiveness, but a ‘collaboration’ that helps to improve our performance and to seek new ways of producing coffee.”

Explaining the family farm in her own words, Patricia sums up both the legacy she carries and the future she envisions. She says, “Fazenda Fortaleza has a long history and tradition, a legacy that goes hand in hand with the history of coffee production in Brazil. It is currently aligning itself with the third wave of coffee, investing in infrastructure and technology for the production of specialty coffees, valuing origin and producer.”

This lot of Yellow Bourbon coffee underwent Fermented Natural processing at Fazenda Fortaleza dos Borges.

This coffee was one of the top 6 entries in the Fermented Coffee category of a competition held by AMECAFÉ Mantiqueira (The Association of Coffee Women Entrepreneurs in Serra da Mantiqueira) in October 2021. The association was founded in 2017 and now includes 130 producers, providing professional development and other events for women producers in the region.