Producer Profile: Caxambu

Meet Carmen Lúcia Chaves de Brito — “Usha” — of Fazenda Caxambu, one of Brazil’s most influential voices in speciality coffee. A producer, agribusiness leader and champion of regenerative agriculture, Usha has spent nearly two decades reshaping what sustainable, quality driven coffee can look like in Brazil.

Fazenda Caxambu is located in Três Pontas, in Brazil’s Sul de Minas region, spanning 211 hectares between 970–1200 masl. Coffee is cultivated across 120 hectares, with more than 60 dedicated to legal reserves and permanent preservation areas, 13 to pasture, and nearly 10 set aside for processing infrastructure. The farm has been in Carmen Lúcia Chaves de Brito’s (“Usha’s”) family for over a century. When she and her siblings inherited it, Usha returned from an academic career in Rio de Janeiro with a clear purpose: to honour her parents’ legacy while safeguarding the land’s ecological and economic resilience for future generations. Her leadership marked the farm’s transition from commercial to speciality production, an intentional shift driven by scientific curiosity, environmental responsibility and deep care for the community that sustains the farm.

The name Caxambu has roots in African and Indigenous traditions and translates to “music box,” referencing the drums once used as a form of communication between local communities. Today, that heritage is woven into the farm’s post‑harvest practice: after processing, coffees are rested in large warehouses where calm, classical music is played, a symbolic continuation of the farm’s cultural identity and a reflection of Usha’s holistic approach to quality.

Beyond the farm, Usha is a respected industry leader. A former president of the Brazilian Speciality Coffee Association and named one of Forbes’ Top 20 Women in Agribusiness in 2021, she has played a defining role in elevating Brazilian speciality coffee, with a consistent message for championing equity, environmental stewardship and producer agency.

While some of the most exciting producers in the industry are becoming known for adopting ‘regenerative agriculture’ in recent years, Usha has been working this way since inheriting the farm, well before the label existed. Her approach to coffee production is holistic and ecologically conscious, exemplifying regenerative philosophies, which aim to minimise environmental harm and build resilience and diversity into the soil and surrounding ecosystem. The farm has reported measurable strides towards carbon neutralisation through collaborations with agro‑ecological researchers. Organic compost enriches the soil, and biodiversity is supported through pollination plans, tree planting and habitat preservation. Every decision has been designed to minimise impact while maximising vitality in the cup.

"The best thing about this whole coffee movement – this moment of change – is the supportive network we’re creating and developing. We’re all thinking about building a better world, and a better coffee culture for the next generation."

Carmen Lucia

Producer and Owner, Fazenda Caxambu

At the heart of Caxambu is an invested and committed team, empowered through constant training, education and shared purpose. Usha emphasises that producing speciality coffee is as much about soul and intention as it is about technique. They have always taken a rigorous but experimental approach to production; consistently testing, developing and refining processes. They track their genetic varieties – building an intimate understanding of the relationships between seedling, soil, and local microclimate. Before the main harvest, plots on the farm are carefully mapped, sampled, and dried separately – then cupped to understand their unique properties and identify potential. Since 2024, they’ve developed their processes further, investing in a resting warehouse, where high-quality micro-lots rest for longer periods of time. Usha takes particular pride in the fact that their final winning submission to Cup of Excellence was a naturally processed lot, believing nothing represents Brazil’s iconic coffee identity better than a natural.

Quality control is led by Dionatan Almeida, the 2024 World Cup Tasters Champion and the first Brazilian to achieve the title. Having grown up on the farm, Dionatan understands Caxambu from seedling to cup, and his sensory skill continues to drive the farm’s pursuit of excellence.

We first worked with Usha when she was one of four contributing producers in the all-women collective behind our Beija Flor coffee, and we knew then that we’d found a partnership worth nurturing. Usha is a lodestar in a growing constellation of brilliant women in coffee, working with tenacity and vision to change the industry. Her vision is infectious, and inspiration flows both ways. High-quality coffee isn’t purely defined by taste, and at Caxambu, they equally value quality of life and land, considering their local community as much as their buyers, and their environment as much as their output.

Usha describes the business as being held up by three pillars: One is necessarily profit, the financial fuel which keeps the operation running; another is people, the lifeblood of the organisation – whose wellbeing is essential for everything the business does; and the third is the land – the soil from which everything springs. It's a way of thinking that’s founded in care, and ends in exceptional coffee. And, despite the highest recognition at Cup of Excellence, Usha refuses to rest on her laurels – as she sees it, the bar’s simply got higher. We can’t wait to see what comes from Caxambu next.

"It’s very special to wake up every day - to make sure we’re doing the right thing - knowing there are people who value everything we’re doing. It keeps us going, it keeps us producing incredible coffees."

Carmen Lucia

Founder and Owner, Fazenda Caxambu