Daterra Coffee
- First time cooperation: 2021
- Cooperation model: Direct Trade
About
Daterra Coffee traces its origins to the Pascoal family, Italian immigrants who settled in Brazil in 1902. From a small roasted-coffee stall in the Campinas marketplace, they nurtured a spirit of knowledge-sharing and a deep passion for coffee that endured across generations. In 1976, under the vision of Luis Pascoal (the founder of the farm), the family established Daterra Coffee as a project named “From the Earth”, reflecting a long-term commitment to nature and sustainable agriculture.
The farm is situated in Cerrado Mineiro, western Minas Gerais, a region distinguished by elevations of 1,100–1,200 meters, a dry and mild climate, and red clay soils rich in minerals. Daterra cultivates coffee across 2,700 hectares, divided into 216 mini-farms of 5–15 hectares each, managed through a scientific and data-driven system that ensures uniformity, purity, and the preservation of the terroir’s sensory identity.
Alongside production, Daterra dedicates 3,250 hectares to natural preservation, planting more than 150,000 native trees and producing 14,000 tons of organic compost annually. These initiatives not only showcase the scale of their work but also reflect the sustainability philosophy Luis Pascoal placed at the foundation: respecting the land, regenerating ecosystems, and ensuring that agricultural growth moves in harmony with social responsibility. From the Pascoal family’s early aspirations, Daterra has grown into a testament to how agriculture can flourish while maintaining a balanced relationship between people and the planet.
A Scientific Production System
Daterra Coffee’s production framework functions as a fully integrated scientific system. Every plot is GPS-mapped, and all agricultural activities are monitored through complete data tracking. After harvest, coffee cherries are dried to ideal moisture levels and then rested for over 40 days in wooden silos to stabilize flavor – an essential step in achieving clarity and structural balance.
The beans then move through a multi-layered sorting system that includes size and density separation, followed by five electronic sorters using different light technologies to eliminate defects and preserve only the most pristine beans. Finished lots are packed using Penta Pack®, a dual-layer vacuum-sealed and inert-gas – flushed system that preserves cup quality for more than three years.
Daterra’s Production Ecosystem
Masterpiece by Daterra
Masterpiece represents Daterra Coffee’s most experimental spirit – a collection of ultra-small lots functioning as an outdoor laboratory where new varieties, unconventional processing methods, experimental drying protocols, and bold ideas are tested. Each Masterpiece lot features a unique flavor profile, scores 88+ on the cupping table, and is unrepeatable, tied to a specific plot, moment, and narrative of the season.
Daterra Collection
Collection encompasses the highest-quality coffees in Daterra’s annual portfolio, bringing together the best-performing lots across the farm. These coffees are processed using the Penta Process® – a five-step quality-control system ensuring cleanliness, consistency, and stability from fruit to bean. With scores of 86-89 and full traceability, Collection coffees are often showcased as single-origin offerings that express the Cerrado terroir with precision.
Daterra Classic
Classic reflects the large-scale production strength of Daterra Coffee and the traditional character of Cerrado coffees: clean, sweet, balanced, and reliably consistent across harvests. With scores of 80-86, Daterra Classic demonstrates how scientific farming and meticulous mini-farm management can deliver regional character at scale while meeting broader market needs.
Greening the Planet: From PEA to the Tree_llion Project
Daterra Coffee was founded in the 1980s, long before “sustainability” became a widespread concept, but the principle was embedded from the very beginning. When Daterra took over the Boa Vista and Taboões farms, the land, vegetation, and ecosystems were severely degraded. To restore the area, the team partnered with the University of ESALQ to develop the PEA environmental protocol, a program that redesigned the entire ecosystem, from soil and water to flora and fauna, within and surrounding the farm.
By 2021, Daterra became one of the very few coffee companies included among more than 20 global organizations participating in the Trillion Trees Movement – a worldwide initiative dedicated to conserving, restoring, and growing over 2.5 billion trees. Beyond participation, Daterra committed to planting 3 million trees by 2030 through the Tree_llion Project, reinforcing its leadership role in large-scale ecological restoration efforts.
Global Recognition and Industry Leadership
Daterra Coffee has consistently solidified its pioneering position in sustainable coffee farming through a blend of scientific precision, technical innovation, and social responsibility. It was the first farm in Brazil to receive Rainforest Alliance™ certification and was recognized by Illy in 2008 as a model of sustainable agriculture.
Daterra also became the first climate-friendly farm certified under the Sustainable Agriculture Network’s Climate Module, demonstrating its practical ability to measure, manage, and reduce environmental impact. These achievements were further recognized with the 2015 Prêmio Fazenda Sustentável by Brazil’s leading agricultural publication, Globo Rural – distinguishing Daterra Coffee as the most sustainable farm in the nation and a leading reference in global specialty coffee.
Why We Choose Daterra Coffee
For XLIII Coffee, selecting a partner goes beyond cup quality, it is about alignment in vision. We believe that the future of specialty coffee must be built on science, transparency, and responsibility. Daterra Coffee is one of the rare farms that embodied this philosophy from very early on. When we encountered Daterra, we recognized the very path XLIII Coffee is committed to: a long-term journey grounded in sound decisions, persistence, and consistency.
Beneath the clean, stable, and rounded flavors of Daterra’s coffees lies a value we deeply respect: a commitment to soil and environment. Dedicating over 3,250 hectares to native forests, regenerating soil with self-produced organic compost, and developing the PEA environmental protocol are not merely technical actions, they are the manifestation of a sustainability vision that we believe the coffee industry must pursue. XLIII Coffee and Daterra Coffee share a common belief: coffee is the outcome of a long-term relationship between people and land, between creativity and scientific discipline.
Our partnership with Daterra Coffee is a natural progression, where visions align, directions converge, and core values are shared, laying the foundation for a journey that is not only sustainable but deeply meaningful.
