Oliveira Ildefonso da Silva's history in coffee started when he was 14 and started to help on the family farm to keep labor costs down. At the time, coffee was not a primary focus or interest to his parents, but something about coffee captured Oliveira's interest, and he decided to try to focus on that crop for his family. He knew very little and struggled in the earliest days, but he kept trying, and now he and his wife Elisangela manage the 15-hectare farm, 10 hectares of which are planted in coffee. Their two sons also help, and they have a small staff of safristas, or seasonal workers who come during the harvest.
For more information about coffee production in Brazil, visit our Brazil Origin Page. For more information about the Best Cup competition, visit www.cafeimports.com/resource.