Efficient logistics with a railway and great support from the now extinct federal institution called the Brazilian Coffee Institute (IBC) in 1956 were key to the city’s development.

The legacy of coffee in Campos Altos is still active and it is the main economic base for the municipality on current days. It all started with a small crop at Fazenda Bonita, where Mr. “Zeca Severino” invested in some coffee plants. The favorable altitude and pleasant climate welcomed those plants and a new farming culture started in the region. With the prosperity of the new product, farmers started converting dense jungle into a new way to make money.

The region receives small, medium and very big producers. Most of them have adopted mechanical harvesting, but you can also find a few who are picking the cherries by hand. The Naturals are a local hit and these cherries are usually dried on cement patios. Some farmers with better infrastructure are also pulping the cherries.

Having an office in this strategic location was important to facilitate Bourbon’s work with local producers who decided to invest in specialty coffee. “Paying fair prices and helping with technical assistance just put them closer to us”, says Nobrega. According to him, Bourbon is working closely with 40 coffee producers.

What you should know:

With time, a great logistics system via railway enabled financial flow and more incentives for the coffee sector. Business was so good that the Brazilian Government decided to install a branch of its controlling/management institution in 1956. The now extinct Brazilian Coffee Institute (Instituto Brasileiro do Café / IBC) had a storage capacity of 200 thousand bags in Campos Altos. The city became a strategic congruence point for other coffee regions located in the countryside of Minas Gerais.

• Small communities started blooming where the iron sector placed its railways and trains, and this was not be different with Campos Altos in 1912.

• The municipality has two important basins of the State of Minas Gerais: São Francisco River Basin and the Paranaíba River Basin.

• The temperature between 15ºC to 26ºC allows different farming styles