What is FAF?
Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza (FAF) is a farm that sits on the southern border of Sul de Minas and is owned and managed by Silvia and Marcos Croce, and their son Felipe. The team at Union have been visiting FAF since 2010.
Silvia inherited FAF in 2001, which has been in her family since 1850. Together with Marcos, they began to transform what was a traditional farm with 150 farmhands into the farm of their dreams.
Silvia’s keen interest in the natural and organic lifestyle has helped shape the path of FAF. Their dream and mission was to convert the farm into a sustainable business that took into consideration the environment while producing high-quality coffee.
Today, FAF has been transformed. Not only is their sustainably-grown, high-quality coffee celebrated by coffee connoisseurs worldwide, but they are a centre for coffee studies, who welcome arts, sustainability projects and volunteering.
Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza translates from Portuguese to Environmental Fortress Farm in English, and you can understand why.
What is Bobolink?
The bountiful knowledge and expertise of Silvia and Marcos which attributed to the success of FAF has not been kept a secret, but openly shared amongst coffee farmers in the region.
What formed from this shared knowledge is a network of producers who have ventured into the growing exquisite coffees through sustainable agriculture. This is Bobolink coffee.
One step in the organic farming process is planting indigenous trees among the coffee to create shade. The trees do not only provide shade but also create new homes for wildlife - namely the New World Blackbird, also known as the ‘Bob-o-link’ Bird.
The bobolink name is used to represent the coffees produced by a network of farmers who have transitioned away from commodity coffee into the production of sustainable speciality coffee.
Why We Love FAF/Bobolink Coffee
The relationship between Union and FAF/Bobolink farmers is special. Over the past decade, we’ve been able to share their delicious coffee, as well as their environmental message.
Our Bobolink single origin is a real crowd-pleaser. This natural processed, lightly roasted coffee is incredibly balanced with subtle fruit acidity and the smoothness of milk chocolate, roasted almonds. With or without milk, it’s delicious. Here at Union, we’re fans of the Bobolink oat milk flat white, we’d suggest trying it if you haven’t already!
On top of this, we’re lucky enough to have some extra special microlots coming through FAF and Bobolink farms. From delicate filters to fruity espressos, these farms are producing exceptional coffee.
Keep an eye out for any new microlot releases, and of course, give Bobolink a go, too!
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