When I first started Nossa Familia Coffee back in 2004, I could never have dreamed that this little company could become what it is today. I didn’t have a grand vision or elaborate plans, I simply wanted to share my family’s Brazilian coffee, and bring a little more happiness and friendship into the world through coffee. Over time, my vision to deliver delicious farm-direct coffee and build positive relationships locally and globally has become more clear, and I’m excited to share our future plans with you - our customers who believed in us and have made it possible.
Over the course of the next six months, Nossa Familia will be opening four new cafes, getting a second Loring Roaster and moving into a bigger roastery space, and expanding our retail into a new city. We recently made the list of Oregon’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, hired our 35th(!) rockstar employee, and I simply couldn’t be more proud of what we have built together. Big moves--literally, so much moving--are ahead for Nossa Familia, and I hope you’ll join us in one of our new locations when the time comes to celebrate their opening!
-- Augusto Carneiro
Founder & Chief Friendship Officer
A New Nossa: Moving our Roastery & Opening Four New Cafes
Since the beginning of Nossa Familia, my goal has been to bring our customers responsibly-sourced, high-quality coffees direct from family and cooperative farmers. Starting with my own family’s farms in Brazil, which remain at the core of our direct trade model to this day, this “family trade” tradition has extended to other relationships across South America, Central America, and Africa. We have been deeply humbled and inspired by the people we’ve met and the places we’ve visited, and we are constantly working to bring our customers closer to the source of their coffee. It’s as simple as putting the farmer’s name on our bags, and as involved as inviting our customers to join us on a trip to origin.
The goal of our new cafes is to welcome our customers into a warm and inviting space, while promising to draw those connections to the farms where the coffee comes from. To that end, the Portland cafes will be designed to incorporate elements of our strongest origin partnerships. Portland-area customers will be able to experience Nossa Familia Coffee in three new cafes by early 2018, and a new Los Angeles Espresso Bar will open by the end of this year. The Portland cafes will be designed to incorporate elements of our strongest origin partnerships, and the LA Espresso Bar will draw on the regal history of the building in which it is housed. Our expansion plans include these new outposts:
A larger roastery in the Northwest Industrial area of Portland (late 2017)
Guatemala Cafe, SE 3rd & Clay in Portland (fall 2017)
Cloudforest Espresso Bar, NW 13th & Lovejoy in Portland (fall 2017)
Brazil Cafe, SE 20th & Division in Portland (early 2018)
Caledison Espresso Bar, Downtown Los Angeles (late 2017)
New Roastery: Northwest Industrial Portland
Nossa Familia Coffee will move its entire roasting, production and office space to Portland’s Northwest Industrial district by the end of 2017. The new warehouse will feature a new and larger 75-kilogram Loring roaster, expanded production and green coffee storage space, a new training lab, and lots of great amenities for our growing team.
New Cafes: In and out of Portland
Our strongest coffee origin partnerships outside of the family farms in Brazil are undoubtedly in Guatemala, where we work with several family farmers and cooperatives. We have been working with Guatemalan coffee farmers for more than five years, and last January we even took a group of 20 people there for an origin trip. The hospitality of our hosts, the beauty of the natural environment and the creativity of the country’s aesthetics have inspired us to incorporate elements of Guatemala into our cafe at Clay Creative, the home of Simple.com.
The Clay Creative space will be colorful and modern, drawing inspiration from the traditional textiles, flora and fauna of Guatemala. We are working with members of Fieldwork Design and Killian Pacific to come up with a unique space with includes custom custom textiles, hand-painted mugs directly from Guatemala, geometric and woven patterns, and abundant foliage.
After five wonderful years of growth in the Pearl District at our current Espresso Bar & Roastery space, Nossa Familia Coffee's headquarters will relocate to a larger space in the NW industrial area that will better suit our growth. The move is estimated for November, at which point our current building in the Pearl will be redeveloped by the Landlord (so come visit us soon to get one last glimpse and tour of our current space!) Our Espresso Bar will move just one block north to the corner of NW 13th & Lovejoy. This space will be inspired by the cloudforests of Nicaragua and Ecuador, drawing on the natural environment with thick, lush foliage and a persistent fog. Though the indoor area will be small, the space features lofty ceilings and an outdoor patio.
When the non-profit, Community Vision Inc. invited us to be the retail tenant in their new headquarters- a four-story office building at 1949 S.E. Division St., at the southeast corner of Ladd's Addition- there was no question that we would make it happen. We are inspired everyday by the work that they do in providing crucial services to assist people experiencing disabilities in finding work and living independently. We have been humbled to provide employment for folks with disabilities through their program here at Nossa Familia Coffee in our production department for the past few years. CVI’s new headquarters will be a model for accessibility, and we have been conscientious to include accessible features in the new cafe.
The Division Street cafe will be rustic-modern Brazil themed, drawing inspiration from the cobalt blue, white and terracotta farmhouses at one of our century-old family farms, Fazenda Recreio. The cafe will incorporate accents of reclaimed wood paneling and tabletops from Viridian Hardwoods, handmade ceramic mugs, custom terracotta pendant lighting, and Portuguese-Brazilian patterned tiles in shades of blue. We hope that you’ll feel a part of the Brazilian familia when you step into this cafe.
Our first outpost outside of Portland, we are set to open a Nossa Familia Espresso Bar at the CalEdison building in Downtown Los Angeles by the end of 2017. This historic building boasts of at least 17 different types of marble--marble floors, ceilings, and walls. Designed with an Art Deco aesthetic in the 1930s, it was one of the first all-electrically heated and cooled buildings in the western portion of the U.S.--and now we get to be a part of that history. Full of creative-use offices, the CalEdison now wants to offer its tenants and daily guests a specialty coffee bar in the lobby. With a minimalist design and menu, we will be serving up the very best of our coffee offerings and retail items. We’ll open the doors for a soft opening May 15th and officially be open to the public May 22nd. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase Nossa Familia Coffee and culture and open our flagship Los Angeles location in DTLA.
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