Sustainable specialty coffee · Brazil
A coffee movement built from the farm up, nurturing a network where ecosystem health, regenerative practices and farmer autonomy shape every cup. Macaw is relationship-based by design.
Fazenda Água da Mata, Garça SP
I wanted to be a bird to better understand the ground.
Manoel de Barros
We believe that with care, life regenerates. This is why we honour the land as an agent of change.
Pantanal, Mato Grosso — Luciano Candisani
Our story
Environmental and social responsibility share the same horizon.
Macaw exists to close a gap. Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer by far, yet specialty menus everywhere offer Colombia, Panama, Guatemala, Peru, Costa Rica, Ethiopia and Kenya, and rarely Brazil. Its global reputation is still shaped by commodity-grade production: volume, consistency and price ahead of quality, origin and variety. Macaw is relationship-based by design.
Partner farms bought direct, across Minas Gerais, the Cerrado, São Paulo and the Amazon
Truly plastic-free espresso cup, developed with Notpla and piloted in Rio
Events with Earthshot, the Science Museum, Museu do Amanhã, The Conduit and Rio Innovation Week
Pantanal, Mato Grosso — Photograph Luciano Candisani
01 · Our Purpose
A farm should function as a living system where soil, water, carbon and biodiversity reinforce each other, held together by the people who farm it. We define the standard first, then find the farms already doing this work, and those ready to meet it. It covers land and people equally: a living ecosystem, and a fairly paid community.
Why we are different
The coffee has to stand on its own before any story is told. We want people to choose it for the quality, and stay for what's behind it. Pleasure and meaning, no trade-offs.
Every step is chosen with the same care. Farms that leave soil, water and biodiversity stronger each year. Pricing that reflects the skill behind the coffee. Roasting and packaging partners who share the standard. And cups from Earthshot Prize winner Notpla, so a daily ritual quietly supports better choices from the soil all the way to your hand.
Our journey begins with the farmers, our primary partners in quality and regeneration. We name them, celebrate them and pay a price that reflects their skill. Every bag is traceable to the farm, the harvest and the hands that grew it. Downstream, we choose who serves our coffee just as carefully: partners who care how it was grown.
Protection preserves the land. Regeneration helps it thrive.
Macaw supports farms that leave soil, water, carbon and biodiversity in better condition each year, and are economically stronger for it.
Soil & water
Water is the first thing climate pressure takes. Permanent soil cover and tree canopy hold moisture; springs are protected, not drawn down. Healthy soil carries the farm through severe drought.
Carbon
Trees, soil and cover crops pull carbon out of the atmosphere. Emissions are cut at source, including solar-powered operations. The result is coffee that goes beyond neutral and becomes carbon negative.
Biodiversity
Native canopy and habitat restored alongside the coffee, each tree species chosen for a function: shade, windbreak, pest control, soil. Stingless bees are the live indicator; the maned wolf's return is the proof.
People
Behind every harvest are farmers, their teams and communities. Lasting relationships and pricing that reflects the skill behind exceptional coffee.
Origination
Our farmers are partners we learn from and celebrate. Below, Fazenda Água da Mata in full, exactly as it appears on Macaw's own sample card.
Sample · 2026 harvest
Garça, São Paulo · 700m · Obatã variety, natural process
A family farm run by Zito, who took it over from his father. It sits at 700m in Garça, an origin recognised in 2026 with a Geographical Indication, Brazil's mark of a distinct coffee terroir. It is not a monoculture: alongside coffee they grow other crops and several coffee varieties. Much of what the land needs is produced on site, so the farm feeds the farm.
Forest and field · Garça, SP · 700 m
The sample
Lot 2026
In the cup
Smooth and round rather than sharp or fruity. Comfortable black, and it holds up very well with milk and with food.
WHY IT TASTES THIS WAY: It is the Obatã variety, naturally processed, dried with the fruit still on the bean, which deepens the chocolate and caramel sweetness. Hand-picked at ripeness. On the farm, coffee grows alongside sunflowers and other crops. After drying, the beans rest in wooden silos the producer built himself, to even out the sugars, hence the clean, consistent finish.
How it is grown
Verified 12.08.2026
More than a third of the farm is native forest. Replanting used threatened native species, among them pau-brasil, the tree the country is named after.
A waterfall and natural springs inside the land. Overflow from the reservoir is piped back to feed the springs, and the farm sustains its own water.
The fertiliser is made on site: composted manure from the sheep and cattle, coffee husk and leaves. Tall ipê trees ring the farm as a windbreak and keep pests down. Part of the operation runs on solar power.
At the farm
Garça, São Paulo
Paula Curiacos and Marcelo Urtado · Cerrado Mineiro
Regenerative farming focused on soil health, biodiversity and the water cycle, with soil protection that carries the farm through severe drought. Solar-powered operations. Native stingless bees as living health indicators.
Rafael and Maíra · Ilicínea, Minas Gerais
The soil is rocky and permeable, so the ground itself filters the water. And the place lives up to its name: walk between the coffee rows and the whole place hums with bees working the flowers.
Paiter Suruí · Terra Indígena Sete de Setembro
Coffee grown by the Paiter Suruí people across 245 hectares in their territory, as an instrument of reforestation and reterritorialization. Planted between cacao and cashew chosen for their place in Suruí culture and the shade they cast.
The name
There we witnessed the revival of the Hyacinth Macaw. Once an endangered species, it flourishes again thanks to the commitment of the Hyacinth Macaw Project.
This is a story of renewal, relationship and responsibility.
02 · Our People
Lucas and David founded Macaw in 2025, while spending much of that year in Brazil preparing for The Earthshot Prize in Rio.
Meet the team
After a decade working internationally in fashion, Lucas developed a global perspective on culture, craftsmanship and branding. Inspired by his connection to Brazilian specialty coffee producers, he founded Macaw to share a more authentic vision of Brazilian coffee.
Vice Chair of the Earthshot Prize and Co-Chair of United for Wildlife, David brings extensive experience building partnerships for good across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Previously Group General Counsel at Standard Chartered Bank and United States Attorney for Connecticut under President Obama.
Marcelo holds a Master's degree in Sustainability from Harvard and has worked across ESG, climate strategy and sustainable finance at Ernst & Young and Arup. At Macaw he connects premium coffee, regenerative agriculture and long-term brand value.
A fractional COO with over 15 years scaling food businesses across Brazil and the United States, with leadership roles at JBS, Cacau Show and Dengo Chocolates leading industrial operations and growth strategy.
An operator and business builder with 15 years scaling companies in Brazil. At Stone Co. he served as CFO of Cappta and COO of Menew, leading growth, product expansion and operational strategy. He holds an Executive MBA from Insper.
At origin
Brazil's first Indigenous barista, and an advocate for Amazonian Robusta. Celeste connects her Suruí heritage with a new generation of Brazilian coffee culture, bringing Indigenous identity and knowledge into the coffee value chain while telling the story of the Robusta Amazônico grown by the Suruí people in Rondônia. She spoke at Rio Innovation Week, in conversation about the future of coffee from the forest and the farm to the cup.
At origin
Runs Fazenda Água da Mata in Garça, São Paulo, which he took over from his father. Family-run, Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance certified, with most of the people who work the farm living on it year-round. After drying, his coffee rests in wooden silos he built himself.
Partnerships are already happening
03 · Our Journey
Next · 16 September 2026
Macaw becomes the house coffee at Nettle, the new rooftop restaurant at The Conduit in Covent Garden. The Conduit is a private members' club and a community built around a just and sustainable future, and somewhere Macaw has poured before, at The Plastic Detox in March.
Nettle's kitchen works zero-waste and buys direct from farmers, which is the argument Macaw makes about coffee, told through food.
August 2026
Macaw hosted The Future of Coffee, bringing together chef and gastronomy champion Bel Coelho, Brazil's first Indigenous barista Celeste Suruí, and regenerative coffee farmer Marcelo Urtado for a conversation about the future of coffee from the forest and the farm to the cup.
Curating the journey from farm to table, Lucas Garcez took guests first to Fazenda Três Meninas in Cerrado Mineiro, then to the table with Bel Coelho on food, territory and culture, and finished with the cup and Celeste Suruí. For us, the future of coffee is not only about producing better coffee. It is about building a better relationship among coffee, people and planet.
Photographs by Lorena Zschaber
August 2026
Restaurant Capim Santo was the perfect setting and host for the World Climate Foundation's Official Opening Dinner of São Paulo Climate Week, and Macaw Coffee was delighted to introduce and celebrate Fazenda Três Meninas with the esteemed guests. Paula Curiacos and Marcelo Urtado produce delicious, highly rated coffee and also something more: a sustainable system where the farm supports the farm, nature supports nature. Chef Morena Leite's mission of welcoming people, making their experiences special and spreading the roots of Brazil through gastronomy is a strong reference for Macaw Coffee. It was a pleasure for Lucas to join Paula and share this coffee experience.
7 May 2026
At the Science Museum, Macaw co-hosted an evening exploring the journey from bean to cup. Antonio Patriota, Brazil's Ambassador to the UK, gave the keynote, joined by sustainable Brazilian producers including the Suruí people and the Três Meninas and Das Almas farms. The evening also showcased Dengo's ethical chocolate and Notpla's seaweed-coated espresso cup, linking the science of production to the future of how coffee is consumed.
April 2026
Macaw supported the London launch of the Jaguar Rivers Initiative at the Science Museum, a bold project to restore ecosystems across South America's Paraná River Basin. The event gathered conservation leaders for a panel on biodiversity and habitat regeneration, while Macaw served sustainable Brazilian coffees and espresso martinis.
March 2026
At The Conduit Club, Macaw joined a high-profile gathering for the global launch of the Netflix documentary The Plastic Detox, focused on the health impacts of microplastics. Moderated by David Fein and featuring Earthshot innovators, the event explored how plastic chemicals affect human biology, while Lucas Garcez hosted coffee and espresso martini tastings.
February 2026
Macaw supported Water Pantanal Fire, a photography exhibition at London's Science Museum highlighting the beauty and fragility of the world's largest wetland. Macaw is deeply connected to this landscape through its conservation partner Onçafari, which protects the region's wildlife including the Hyacinth Macaw Project. Macaw served Rainforest Alliance-certified coffee from the Muniz family in Notpla's plastic-free cups.
December 2025
Macaw participated in the 10th anniversary of Rio's Museu do Amanhã, celebrated with a public programme and a high-profile gala dinner. Co-founder David Fein spoke on the growing partnership between The Earthshot Prize and the museum, highlighting its legacy in Brazil, while Lucas Garcez hosted coffee tastings that connected guests directly to the stories and landscapes behind each cup.
November 2025
Throughout the Earthshot Summit, from high-level meetings to Awards Night at the Museu do Amanhã, Macaw maintained a constant presence, including at the new open-air Earthshot Boulevard. Across all events Macaw created moments of connection around coffee, bringing the Earthshot community together through a shared experience that linked local origins to global climate ambition.
