The Company

The old mansion of Fazenda do Riacho, imposing due to its original layout from the Brazilian Empire, no longer bears the address of Francisco Firmo de Mattos, a name that in the 19th century was behind one of the largest cattle and coffee plantation productions in the Contagem Region, Minas Gerais.

Owner of an immeasurable trajectory and head of the third generation of a family of coffee growers, the Mattos patriarch began his story in a seminary in Mariana (MG), where he exchanged the priesthood for a family, which gave him 14 children.

Eight years old from his first marriage with Maria Margarida Brochado de Mattos, and later widowed, he married again with Isabel Nascimento de Mattos, with whom he had another six.

In 1956, with the death of Francisco at the age of 88, the Mattos' routine changed, leaving behind a vast legacy of experiences and passion for the culture of quality coffee, recognized for its exceptional aroma and flavor. Meanwhile, the small town of Contagem was advancing rapidly, bringing with it a meteoric urban expansion and leading the heirs to divide the farm into industrial and residential areas.

Aware of the changing landscape, one of his sons, already settled in Patrocínio, Minas Gerais, and working in the same industry, enticed his brothers to purchase land in the Cerrado Mineiro region, in the northwest of the state, recognized as the country's first Designation of Origin for specialty coffee production. Thus, Fazenda Novo Riacho emerged, the first in a series dedicated to white coffee cultivation, but in 1980 it expanded to include specialty beans.

With the growth of children, nephews and grandchildren, the death of some and the dissolution of partnerships, among others, the lands were divided and renamed, highlighting the Novo Riacho Farm, owned by the brothers, and the Central Mattos Farm, owned by the sisters. In 2007, there was a new division of properties, with each heir keeping their own farm, Central Mattos/Santa Rita, owned by Filomena Estefânia. In 2017, she also acquired the Colorado Farm.

The Mattos Couto family history in the coffee plantations of Cerrado Mineiro is led by matriarch Filomena Estefânia, the youngest of the heirs of Mr. Francisco, the name that today gives rise to the brand “Café Filomena Estefânia“. From Fazenda Central Mattos to the national and international market, the product arrives with UTZ and Rainforest Alliance certification, with the Seal of Denomination of Origin that attests to the origin and quality evaluated sensorially according to the methodology and protocol of the American Specialty Coffee Association SCAA.

HINCMAR E FILOMENA ESTEFÂNIA