STNMTZ_20210625_5123.TIF | George Steinmetz

Minas Gerais, Brazil
A Modernist coffee processing factory and drying yard are surrounded by fields of Arabica coffee in the hills of southern Brazil. Most tropical coffee plantations are comprised of broken forests, as coffee plants favor partial shade, but the unique climate of southern Brazil allows for mono-cropping without shade trees, and most plantations here are harvested by machines that can each do the work of 70 hand-pickers. Virtually all their production is for export, and their biggest U.S. buyer is Starbucks. Brazil is the world’s biggest coffee producer, with some 40% of global production.

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Minas Gerais, Brazil<br />
A Modernist coffee processing factory and drying yard are surrounded by fields of Arabica coffee in the hills of southern Brazil. Most tropical coffee plantations are comprised of broken forests, as coffee plants favor partial shade, but the unique climate of southern Brazil allows for mono-cropping without shade trees, and most plantations here are harvested by machines that can each do the work of 70 hand-pickers. Virtually all their production is for export, and their biggest U.S. buyer is Starbucks. Brazil is the world’s biggest coffee producer, with some 40% of global production.