Shrewsbury restaurant manager Sue Oliver was able to “complete the circle” earlier this month when she met a Brazilian coffee grower who supplies some of the beans that go into the popular coffee blend that she serves up to customers.
Sue, from Love Coffee at caravan and motorhome business Salop Leisure’s Emstrey headquarters, said it was nice to connect Pedro Gabarra Teixeira to the coffee that she sells.
Pedro, whose rural coffee farm is in Fazenda Pinhal in Brazil’s Minas Gerias region, was paying a visit to his customer and friend Andrew Turner wife who has run Aroma Tea and Coffee Merchants in Shrewsbury for nearly 40 years.
Andrew struck up a friendship with Pedro and his parents when he stayed at their farm on a trip to Brazil five years ago. He has been buying coffee beans from Pedro for three years and they are used in an Italian roast blend supplied by Andrew to Love Coffee.
It’s the third time that Pedro has visited Andrew and his family in Shrewsbury and is now looking to work with the University of Chester on a coffee production project.
“Pedro tried the coffee blend at Love Coffee and thought it was excellent,” said Andrew. “We have been supplying coffee to Love Coffee for around 13 years and I think it’s good that Salop Leisure is supporting local businesses.”
Sue said: “It was really nice to meet Pedro and to put a face to the coffee bean. Andrew roasts all the coffee beans here in Shrewsbury and it was good to connect our coffee with one of the growers.”
