Itinerary:

May 4-14, 2012

Friday, May 4 – Arrive at Sao Paulo International Airport in the morning. Scenic drive out of Sao Paulo towards the Coffee Highlands, 3.5 hour ETA. Cold drinks awaiting at the Hotel, Group introduction, Dinner, hang out and relax from long trip.

Saturday, May 5 – Wake up to a wholesome breakfast featuring fresh fruits and delicious locally grown and roasted Nossa Familia coffee! Today’s Plan: Walking Tour and Lunch at Fazenda Recreio. Culture: Dinner in Pocos de Caldas, Live Music, great food, and cool drinks to finish off the first day. Optional Mountain Bike Ride.

Sunday, May 6 – Introduction to Pocos de Caldas. We’ll head into town to explore the feirinha (the local arts and crafts market), we’ll have lunch in town and then back to watch some of the farm employees in action at the soccer field. Watching is the best part, as they have an employee run bar at the “futebol” field. There are several local chapels and churches in the area, so anyone who wishes to attend a local Mass, spoken and sung in Portuguese will be able to do so. Optional Mountain Bike Ride.

Monday, May 7 – Today’s Plan: Coffee Harvesting 101 at Fazenda Cachoeira. A cup of coffee will never taste the same once we experience hands-on coffee harvesting. We’ll harvest for a couple of hours and enjoy packed lunches in the coffee fields. Optional Mountain Bike Ride.,

Tuesday, May 8 – (by now we’ll be losing track of which day of the week it is): Today’s Plan: The Coffee Process. What happens after the coffee cherries are plucked off the trees? You’ll find out today, another good day for sun screen as we’ll be helping spread the coffee cherries on the patio to dry in the sun.

Wednesday, May 9 – Today’s Plan” Break from Coffee for the EXOTIC EXPERIENCE #27: The local bird sanctuary. No point in trying to describe the amazing fauna of this place, make sure you have enough film or memory space in your camera! Optional Mountain Bike Ride.

ARTISTRY: Teodoro is the artist who created the block print used in our Nossa Familia Coffee label. He was inspired by the last group who visited the farm (a group of mountain bikers – notice that the sun is a bicycle wheel). We’ll be visiting his studio for a relaxing afternoon of art, Brazilian culture and engaging conversation. Optional Mountain Bike Ride.

Thursday, May 10 – Today’s Plan: Coffee Cupping, Quality Control and Coffee Roasting. How do we ensure that every pound of coffee sold is of the best possible quality? Today we’ll get to know the “Master Cupper” who tastes every single lot of coffee produced at the farm. With Augusto, you will be exposed to the art of coffee tasting.

Friday, May 11 – Today’s Plan: “Take a Hike!” – Today we’ll be doing a guided jungle hike. This 4km “single-track” hike will expose you to the tropical fauna of Brazil. Our guide will be my grandfather Ernesto who has a wealth of knowledge to share and knows the trail like the back of his hand. If we get lucky, we’ll see monkeys hopping on branches above us, and fear not, no large snakes to be seen in this area of Brazil! Optional Mountain Bike Ride.

SPA DAY: you’ve earned it, we’ll be heading into town to the roman style bath house for some relaxation. After some rejuvenation, we’ll have the afternoon to explore the sights and sounds of Pocos, finishing up with dinner at my favorite restaurant, with live music and one of the best selections of local drinks in town!

Saturday, May 12 – Day off to enjoy the town NIGHT IN TOWN: Can’t let a Saturday night go by without exploring the Brazilian Night Life! Optional Mountain Bike Ride.

Sunday, June 13 – Today’s menu: “Sleeping In” – We’ll all need a little extra beauty sleep after the night out, so we’ll take it easy this morning. In the afternoon we’ll head up to the Christ Statue on top of the hill of Pocos de Caldas. The statue is 1,000 feet above the city, providing a spectacular view of the town and region. There are several local chapels and churches in the area, so anyone who wishes to attend a local Mass, spoken and sung in Portuguese will be able to do so.

Monday, May 14 – It’s already the last day! All good things must come to an end. We will be able to fit in a bit more sight-seeing and head back to the hotel in time to pack up, and have the last meal before heading back to Sao Paulo. Depart Hotel at 2:00 p.m. toward Sao Paulo.

December 2012 - Remember the coffee you harvested at Fazenda Cachoeira? Hours of hard labor under the Brazilian sun, followed by all that sweat and hard work spreading the beans to dry on the patio? Well by December we will have those very beans arriving in Brazil, and you will be invited to a roasting party. You will help us roast and package that coffee and each tour participant will get a few bags to take home, just in time for Christmas gifts! How many bags you ask? It will depend on how hard we work in Brazil. A couple hours of handpicking beans should yield 4-8 lbs for each person. It will be the best coffee you’ve ever had!