Sítio Santa Maria
Owner: Valter Henrique Simões
Municipality: Ouro Fino
State: Minas Gerais
Variety: Mundo Novo and Catuaí
Altitude: 1.200 masl
This estate belonged to the family patriarch, Valter's grandfather. Mozart was born in 1962, in the city of Ouro Fino, and as soon as he could began helping his father tend their 15 thousand coffee plants. The property faced a significant challenge in 1981, when a strong frost rendered 10 thousand coffee plants unproductive, causing a considerable loss to the family. In an attempt to recover from this setback, Mozart's father planted garlic in the now available land, but this also proved unsuccessful.
In 1986, Mozart decided to again invest in coffee, and planted 2 thousand plants. Gradually, and with a lot of effort, they were able to restore order to the property. In 1994, Valter was born, and from an early age showed that he would uphold the family tradition and start the third generation of family coffee growers. He planted an additional 10 thousand coffee plants and now manages his own plantation, living entirely on the income from coffee and caring for 13.5 thousand coffee plants.