Get To Know Bruno!

Bruno recently joined the Mercon Specialty team as Specialty Coffee Coordinator in Brazil. His experience with coffee began as a child growing up on a coffee farm and soon became one of his passions. Bruno was born in a small town called Jacuí in South of Minas, where he lived until he was 15 years old. Bruno’s father managed a farm, and Bruno watched the production process first hand, from planting, fertilizing, harvesting, and the post-harvest process.

In 2009, Bruno had the opportunity to visit the quality department of a large cooperative in São Sebastião do Paraíso in Minas Gerais, called Cooparaíso. It was here Bruno decided to focus his career on coffee. Soon after, he completed a 9-month internship to further learn the coffee quality process. After the internship, Bruno was hired, and he learned continued to learn over the 5+ years he worked there.

When Bruno was just 19 years old, he had the opportunity to be a judge at the Minas Gerais State Contest, which receives approximately 1,500 samples every year from farms throughout Minas Gerais. Bruno has been tasting the best coffee produced in Brazil for a long time.

In 2015, Bruno began working with Monte Alegre Coffees, a farm focused on the production of specialty coffees. In the 5 years Bruno spent with Monte Alegre, he acquired a wealth of knowledge in the production of specialty coffees, different processes, and coffee profiles. In the same year, 2015, Bruno passed the necessary tests to become a judge of the Cup of Excellence.

Bruno has participated as a Cup of Excellence judge in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2020. For the 20th anniversary of the COE, Bruno was selected to represent the Brazillian group in the international phase of the competition. He tasted coffees with some of the legends of specialty coffee.

We are pleased to welcome Bruno to Mercon Specialty. His goal is to bring the most premium and special coffees to our customers, while also supporting the talent and hard work of Brazilian producers.