* The following text was written by our partner and photographer Panos Georgiou, who traveled with us to Brazil, in order to discover photographically all those Unique People who take care of our coffee.

Let me explain a bit of this title.. I was born in a small mountainous village in Greece some years ago. Back then, the people of the province worked the land with their bare hands. For those, the coffee break was necessary not only to rest and gather strength, but also to enjoy what they had accomplished with their own hands. Somewhere in these moments of relaxation and enjoyment, began my relationship with coffee. I urged my father to make him his coffee, with the coffee pot and the camping stove, no matter where we were. All I wanted was to smell its aroma the moment I opened the glassed jar. I was still too young to drink coffee, but time passed by quickly.. rural life outgrows you, and so the time has come for me to drink my coffee. It was love at first sight. Ever since, the passion and the expectation for coffee has never faded away.

Starting a long trip from Athens to Brazil and after almost two days of flying and driving, I finally got to some of Coffee Island’s farms in Jacarezinho. A wave of images and memories filled my heart and mind. A lovely coffee scent was spread over the farm. Everything reminded me of something and everything was new at the same time. My eyes were full of green plains and scattered pieces of tropical vegetation. The toucans and any other rare bird spice anyone could ever think of, kept the pace and the workers of Luiz’s farm worked like we once did, the land with their bare hands and their pure hearts.

At last I was looking at these little beautiful coffee trees, which are responsible for all these times that gave me a little more energy boost when I felt like running out. Small with glossy leaves that shimmer and with their bright red cherries, ready, waiting for the hands to pick them up.

The days were passing by beautifully and fast. Full of coffee and amazing pictures. I forgot to mention at the beginning that the first person I met was Luiz – the owner of the farm and a charismatic guy who has a unique way of telling stories about coffee. What impressed me the most was that the farm was working like a well-oiled machine. The people who work in the farms were always smiling and they used to greet you anywhere you met them. A beautiful vivid yellow church overlooks the spot where we all enjoyed our coffee during the breaks.

One of the days of my stay in the farm, I was thinking that the hands of the workers were the ones where the wonderful coffee trip began. And so, full of coffee pictures and hospitality at Luiz’s very cinematic farm, it’s time to depart for São Paulo.

Intermediate station before our next stop is Espírito Santo. A few more flights and then a magical journey from the city of Vitória led you to the mountains of Espírito Santo. The trip continues next week..

Panos