Nossa Familia, which is Portuguese for “our family” from Portland, OR is our latest roaster selection. Nossa Familia started as a way for Augusto Carneiro to bring his family’s coffee to the US from Brazil. While he still imports coffee from his family’s farm, Nossa Familia has begun building relationships with and importing coffee from farmers all over the world. Similar to why we named this subscription “Brothers Coffee,” Nossa Familia considers everyone that is a part of their business, from their employees and customers to their farmers and importers, as their extended family.

Augusto started Nossa Familia without a set roaster or cafe. He simply received green coffee from his family in Brazil and found ways to sell it. Now they have expanded to a roaster and 4 retail locations on the west coast, as well as a large wholesale unit that sells coffee to restaurants, coffee shops and grocery stores. But they never left behind their vision of family values. They became the first B-Corporation in Oregon to certify their social and environmental performance. They donate 10% of their profits each year to their farmers and non-profits. When selecting their roasting equipment, they selected roasters that use 80% less electricity and cause 80% less emissions than similar roasters. Their facilities only use 100% renewable (wind) electricity.

Augusto used the knowledge he gained from his family’s business to ensure all farms he works with are well taken care of. Nossa Familia pays far more than fair trade prices for their coffee and provide a line of credit to many of their farmers to help them during harvesting season. The funding they provide to farmers ensure good working conditions for the workers and their families across the globe.

To encourage their employees to use car-free transportation, they subsidize their employees bike-tune ups as well as foul weather and safety gear. To encourage their employees to volunteer in the community, they give each employee 16 hours of paid pro-bono time with non-profits in the area. Nossa Familia frequently partners with p:ear, a local non-profit that trains homeless or transitional youth to be baristas, including certification and recommendations upon graduation. This program helps immediately give these youth marketable and in-demand skills to help them land on their feet.