Paraná | Brazil

Dulcineia is part of the Mataõ Women In Coffee project. Mataõ is a remote region in southern Brazil and the group formed to support these women’s efforts to run a portion of their family farm with a focus on quality instead of quantity. The group’s coffees have won competition accolades but the best part might be that they have made their husbands jealous with the premium pricing and recognition they have received.

Here is Dulcineia’s story in her own words:

Quick Facts

Producer:
Dulcineia dos Santos Teixeira

Region:
Tomazina, Norte Pioneiro, Paraná

Varieties:
Red Catuai

Processing:
Black honey. Hand-picked and dried on African beds for 16 days

Cup Profile
Very sweet with flavors of honey and maple syrup and a sweet orange acidity.

"I am the seventh of eight siblings. Since I was a young girl, 13 years old, I helped my parents, José and Izabel, to work with coffee. At the time I remember them telling me that the yard was my responsibility.

When I was older, at 17, I had to go to work in the city (Tomazina-PR) as a seamstress, until in 2006 when I got married and started working with coffee. At first my husband and I, Leopoldo, had 1 hectare of coffee, we already had a different management in the field, we picked the coffee on the cloth and we were already concerned with drying.

In 2010 we had our first daughter, Isabela, and in 2013 my second daughter, Isadora, I remember that she was born in the same year that the Matão women started the group, I could not follow because of the children being still very young. But in 2017 I received the invitation to join the group again and this time I seized the opportunity.

Today I see how important this was, because I learned a lot from the project and the assistance they provide us, and through that I am confident that my coffee will be well paid, recognizing all our effort and dedication to produce it.

We currently have 2 hectares of coffee from which we intend to harvest 100 bags in the next harvest. Our intention is that 40% is specialty coffees, we are working hard to make it happen".