Marcelo Assis is one half of the partnership that makes up Bioma Cafe - a small farm on the cutting edge of specialty coffee production in Brazil, and a producer that we're thrilled to be able to partner with here at Kea.

Bioma Cafe is a joint venture between Marcelo Nogueira Assis and Flavio Marcio Silva. The pair are part of a new generation of farmers and producers in Brazil, who are committed to improving coffee quality and producing high quality specialty grade lots - something that Brazil in general hasn't been very well known for in the past.

The pair initially joined forces in 2001. Mercelo, a recent graduate from a leading agricultural school, had a passion and vision to create a small farm with a dedicated focus on producing the highest quality specialty coffees.

What followed next was a 9 year search for the perfect terroir.

In 2010, the pair settled on their dream lot - a 229 hectare lot in Cerrado Mineiro.

The farm sits on a plateau at 1200 meters above sea level, and this small but mighty team have spent the subsequent years planting some rare and unusual varietals (more on that later!) and pushing boundaries with new processing techniques to produce some of the regions top coffees.

Most recently, Bioma Cafe won 1st place in the 2024 Cup of Excellence competition in Brazil in the experimental processing category with an anaerobic fermentation lot with an impressive cup score of 93 points.