If you’re lucky enough to have Pact Coffee in your office, you may be familiar with Planalto. If we had a ‘People’s Choice Awards’, it’d win it. If we were recommending one coffee to turn you from supermarket blends to speciality beans, Planalto would be the one.

We always knew how great is is, but now it’s been recognised officially: Planalto is a proud winner of a Great Taste Awards star! The “most trusted accreditation scheme for fine food and drink”, these awards get 500 judges to blind taste-test more than 10,000 products. And just 37% of these will receive a star rating - this year, Planalto is one of them!

This is confirmation that Planalto is, as we always knew, “simply delicious”. Here’s a few reasons why it’s always been a winner to us:

• The Coffee

It’s one of the most popular coffees we supply to offices. And there’s good reason why: with your first sip you are overwhelmed by rich chocolate and malt flavours, followed by a light milky acidity that balances its creaminess well. We roast it medium-dark, for a well-needed upgrade to that familiar coffee flavour. It’s delicious. ‘Nuff said.

• The Farm

We refer to it as the Planalto estate for a reason: this is not a small farm. At a massive 908 hectares, with 430 hectares of coffee-producing land, Sergio and Mariza manage to produce around 12,000 bags a year - that’s 35 bags per hectare. A lot of coffee to go around!

It’s not finished growing though, next steps involve expanding the plantations by acquiring neighbouring areas. This is not all about profit: Sergio and Mariza are keen to support conservation of the local habitat too. 25% of the farm is already natural forest, but they want to expand this as well by planting varieties which are well suited to the area. They give back where they can - that’s why we think that’s why they make such a good partner for Pact.

• The Farmer

Now a firm friend of Head of Coffee Will, Sergio Mantonvanni has proved his commitment to growing the best of the best by taking his farm manager along to specialised processing courses. He’s also an all-round good guy - Why not get to know him?

What does coffee mean to you?

It’s a passion. Passion for production. It makes me proud to know we’re doing our best.

What are your goals for the future?

In the future, the idea is to expand the plantations by acquiring neighbouring areas. In terms of preservation, even though the farm is 25% natural forest, the idea is to expand such areas and plant varieties suited to the local area.

How important are your staff?

Very important. To show this, we provide housing to all resident workers with access to water and waste services. Education is also provided and wages are above regional standards. A doctor is available to assist the employees and families, and every two weeks an agent of the public health service visits the farm.

What do you like to do outside of work?

My favourite team is Santos Football Club, so watching them. Otherwise, after work I like to relax by working out and running. My ideal spot to relax is a nearby lake, which I like to walk by when the night approaches.

What are your future plans for the farm?

In the future, the idea is to expand the plantations by acquiring neighbouring areas. In terms of preservation, even though the farm is 25 per cent natural forest, the idea is to expand such areas and plant varietals suited to the local area.

What benefits are provided to workers?

The farm provided housing to all resident workers with access to water and waste services. Education is also provided and wages are above regional standards. A doctor is available to assist the employees and families, and every two weeks an agent of the public health service visits the farm.

Make friends, make friends, never ever break friends

While our coffee menu is ever changing, we always find our way back to the favourites. Creating long-lasting relationships gives farmers an incentive to grow even better coffee, as they know we’ll be rushing back over to try out what they’ve got - it gives a sense of security.

Planalto is a key example of this. We’ve worked with Sergio so consistently that Planalto is one of our all-year-round coffees - we’ve even featured special edition forms of Planalto that’ve used different processing methods, like Planalto Natural and Planalto Honey. So we’re especially pleased it’s been awarded a prize - congratulations to Sergio and the team!