An in-depth look at the origins that were used to create Mokum and Braine

Capricornio Coffees is an exporter that works closely with farmers in Brazil by offering them agronomical support to help them develop the best quality every season. This creates the upward cycle of better quality which influences the market to pay better prices and foster quality investments back on the farm. Through their “Four Seasons” program, they offer technical assistance which also includes behavioral changes of the farmers. It is a first step to help farmers move from producing commodity to specialty coffee. This program supports the farmers during harvesting and post harvesting activities, but as the name says: it supports in all the four seasons.

Moving from commodity to better paying and “pride enticing” specialty coffee, farmers gain headspace to care about the well being of the earth and community whilst producing their coffees. They move out of a “survival state”. Capricornio also works in a number of social projects locally to empower certain groups that are often vulnerable to climate change. Women in Coffee (WIC) is one such project that is also supported by This Side Up. Women from 69 small farms in Brazil are empowered by Capricornio through knowledge, know-hows and market connections to produce high quality coffees which could be recurringly commercialized. This Side Up has been working with WIC to also help them find direct roaster relationships so they can be provided with recurring contracts. Zwart’s Coffee, the roaster of the Amsterdam blend, is one of such partners.

Capricornio’s key focus area also lies in regenerative agriculture. They have been developing regenerative solutions towards combatting against pests like borer which is a common issue regarding plant health. The Brazilian coffees in the Amsterdam blend is supplied by some women from the Mulheres de Matao group and Fazenda California The Amsterdam blend typically consists of about 50% Brazilian arabicas for Mokum and 30% for Braine.

2025 RECAP

WHAT WENT WELL?

REGENERATION ACTIVITIES
Wesley, the agronomist at Capricornio, worked closely with our partner farmers on a range of regenerative practices, all centered around improving soil health. As part of the Four Seasons program, he explained: “In these areas, a mix of cover crops was planted—six different plants growing at the same time, each with a distinct biological function. Together, they support the soil and the microorganisms that live in it. In new plots, they also act as windbreaks, helping reduce the spread of pests and diseases.”

Because Brazilian coffees form the backbone of our business, we’ve been able to build a regenerative premium of €0.06 per kilo into these volumes and reinvest it at origin.
So far, this has amounted to around €30,000, supporting Capricornio and our partner farms in developing and expanding these practices. It is an ongoing project and we will soon integrate the latest progress report here.

WHAT DID NOT GO WELL?

UNDERSTANDING THE COMPLEXITY OF BRAZILIAN REALITY

Even when knowing each other for so many years, and doing several visits to the farms, misunderstandings can still happen. We believed that a system where a farmer and a buyer set the price together, based on cost of production costs and early payments, would be the best solution for every coffee farmer. It seems that once again, context is king: the Brazilians did not want this system.

Why? Because they feel that the Brazilian realities are reflected well on the international market. And to an extent, this is true. When Brazil sneezes, the coffee market gets a cold, because of their sheer market size. So farmers feel that the international market takes care of their environmental swings. Other than that, they also use the market in a “farmer first” way, selling parts of their harvest throughout the year, using a variety of day and futures contracts. It allows them for liquidity, and to sell for a price they accept, on the day they need it.

For us, it was a little “shock”, but quickly we realized that as an agent of the farmer and a true partner: we support them in this. So for our Brazilian contracts, we use the futures market, and set the price in advance and let “the market” fix the difference between our price and the farmer price.