Partners

Lucatelli selects only ethical, sustainable, transparent, and traceable sources and farmers.  Our supply chain is crystal clear.  We know our sources and farmers personally, and buy from them directly.  We also deal directly with our shipping supplier and with our ground freight supplier to ensure the simplest supply chain possible.

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The System Complexity Principle states that as the complexity of a system increases, so does the probability of errors or malfunctions occurring within that system.   We apply this principle to our supply chain, which is why we have had precisely one farm source in Brazil since Lucatelli was formed, one source of coffee in Colombia, one global shipping supplier, and one ground freight supplier.  In a world of choice, the individuals and organizations most able to correctly choose which suppliers to use, win.  No system is perfect, but by definition the simpler a system is, the lower the probability of errors or malfunctions.  Our customers benefit from this simplicity and curation.

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Labareda Group - Brazil

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Labareda has been perfecting their specialty green coffees since 1984 as a family business going back three generations. 

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We chose Labareda because of their commitment to their community, because of the excellence and consistency of their coffees, and because of the the sustainable, traceable business practices they employ.  Fazenda Bom Jesus is a labor of love borne by the Oliveira family, which includes the couple Gabriel and Flavia, along with their sons Lucas and Gabriel Junior.   Here is an excerpt from an interview with Gabriel Jr. in BeanScene Magazine:

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Brazilian coffee producer Gabriel Oliveira of Bom Jesus farm talks to BeanScene about his family’s strong environmental commitment and why specialty coffee goes beyond cup quality.

Every producer thinks their farm is special, but in Gabriel Oliveira’s opinion, owning Bom Jesus is a matter of luck and merit. 

Located at Alta Mogiana biome in Brazil, Bom Jesus is a picture perfect postcard of lush terrain, symmetrical rows of coffee trees, and natural vegetation. 

As a child, Gabriel recalls playing among the drying coffee on his grandparent’s farm. He grew up with first-hand appreciation that coffee production was arduous, detailed, and extremely passionate work, but it was work that fascinated him.

“Our family always let its successors choose their own path, their own career, but coffee has always brought our family together,” Gabriel says.

Gabriel chose coffee as his profession, and so have his children, making them the family’s seventh generation of coffee producers. 

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Named after the small chapel located on the farm, Gabriel’s parents Gabriel Senior and Flavia took over ownership of Bom Jesus from Gabriel Senior’s parents in 1971. Along with the farm’s agronomist, Gabriel’s brother Lucas, and mentorship from Odilon Americano Rodrigues Alves, Gabriel has watched the evolution of Alta Mogiana biome’s coffee production. 

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“The industry and especially international buyers are demanding for high quality coffee and at Bom Jesus we have been able to exceed this demand,” Gabriel says. “Until the early 2000s, we were exporting mainly commercial grade coffee, but when the specialty boom started, we realised we had been selling specialty as commercial.”

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The current state of Brazil’s specialty coffee production is small, but for a continent-sized country producing countless flavour profiles, Gabriel says there’s still a lot to be learned, such as how much quality coffee can aggregate the price of specialty and create a better coffee drinking experience.

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 “I know several producers, our friends, who when making their own coffee still put sugar in [it]. This is cultural,” Gabriel says. “We need to break these paradigms to move forward. People need to knowledge, know that coffee does not need to be so strong, over roasted, milk-based, and [contain] sugar. Only when the majority of the population decides to enjoy a good coffee can we say that we are at the highest quality peak.”

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Bom Jesus currently plants 21 coffee varietals, with the highest proportion being Catuai, Bourbon, and Mundo Novo, and is constantly researching new cultivars and production methods.  The farm produces naturals and pulped-natural coffees and is methodical about its drying methods. It uses a de-pulping machine for natural coffees and a patio to dry most of the coffees. Gabriel says patios are said to be obsolete but this natural energy from the sun is an effective method to dry his coffees. Bom Jesus also has a number of raised-beds for micro-lots and tanks for controlled fermentation. For ultimate control, Gabriel separates coffee lots in different wooden hulls so customers always get the coffee they are buying without any confusion.  “We test each coffee individually before and after storing them, aiming for fully traceability and quality control. After the coffee is dried, we cup them again and what meets customers’ standard, we bag them and ship them to their countries,” Gabriel says. 

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The aim is to produce coffees with a balance between sweetness, body, and acidity, but it is Bom Jesus coffee’s distinct caramel flavour that’s become internationally recognised thanks to the coffee’s high sugar content.

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Bom Jesus produces 20,000 60-kilogram bags on average in harvest from April to September. In 1986, when Gabriel’s father and mother took the management control over his grandparent’s property, their first crop yield was just 1000 bags. Production has been through several ups and downs, but now yield has expanded rapidly despite the farm’s consistent battle with excessive rain and drought. 

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Gabriel believes Bom Jesus’s current high-yield harvest is due to the farm’s rich preserved forest which attracts lots of Brazilian-wolves, ant eaters, armadillos and birds, such as toucans and hawks. By law, the farm is obliged to preserve 20 per cent of the land, but it’s now close to 40 per cent.   “This is one of the reasons we rarely see insects attack and rusty leaves. Maybe this is the secret for our high-quality,” Gabriel says.   The other reason is because of Bom Jesus’s “excellent terroir”, microclimate, “ideal altitude”, and propitious soil containing high sand and clay content for specialty coffee production. Being located close to the port of Santos is also an advantage, as is the farm’s proximity to five springs and a medium-sized river. 

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Some facts about Bom Jesus:

 

• ALTITUDE – 1,270 meters above sea level (4,167 feet)

• LOCATION – Cristais Paulista, Alta Mogiana. Sao Paulo, Brazil

• PROCESS – Natural process, sun dried, 30 days of resting period

• DEFECTS - 2/3

• SIZE - 16 up

• VARIETY – Mundo Novo and Yellow Catuai

• PACKAGING - GrainPro & Jute, 30 Kilogram Bag (66 pounds)

 

The farm where Bom Jesus is grown has a long heritage in coffee culture.  It is a founding member of Alta Mogiana Specialty Coffee Association, which promotes a greater conscience with regard to speciality coffee in the region as well as developing better farm practices.

 

The objective of the owners is to sustainably develop their region socio-economically. Performance bonus payments are also made alongside employees fixed wages.  All employees on the farm receive specialized literacy training.  To learn more about this amazing family, farm, and company in Portuguese with English subtitles, click HERE.

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Colombian Coffee Growers Federation

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​2025 marks our first year in partnership with The National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, (Spanish: Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia), abbreviated as Colombian Coffee Growers Federation or Fedecafé, is a non-profit business organization, popularly known for its "Juan Valdez" marketing campaign. The Federation was founded in 1927 as a business association that promotes production and exportation of Colombian coffee. It currently represents over 540,000 producers, most of whom are small family owned farms.

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While many factors contributed to the impressive increase in production and revenue, the rise and success of the Colombian coffee industry reflects the Federation's rigid adherence to the three objectives which were originally offered to justify its creation: 1) to protect the industry, 2) to study its problems, and 3) to further its interests.

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The Federation supports research and development in the production of coffee through grants to local universities and through Federation sponsored research institutes. The Federation also monitors production to ensure export quality standards are met.

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The highly successful Juan Valdez branding concept was launched in 1960 to distinguish 100% Colombian coffee from coffee blended with beans from other countries.  The trademark character made its debut on a whole-page ad in the Sunday edition of The New York Times on January 6, 1960, featuring a country farmer (campesino) carrying coffee on his mule Conchita.

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In November 2019, the Federation received the Distinguished Leadership Award for Social Equity from the Inter-American Dialogue.[2] The award was presented by the vice president of Colombia, Marta Lucía Ramírez.

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