Benedito Aparecido Inácio was born to coffee producers from the state of Paraná. He eventually settled himself in the Chapadão de Ferro microregion of Cerrado Mineiro in the 1990s, primarily providing service for agricultural machinery and leasing his property to local coffee growers. In 2013, he decided to take over management of the coffee crops at his farm, Fazenda Chapadão de Ferro, and has since earned most of his income through his coffee production. Within Cerrado, there are many microregions that present unique characteristics in the cup.
The Chapadão de Ferro microregion is a small town with farms situated around the cone of a partially formed volcano. Farms here are at higher elevations above 1100 meters and coffee is harvested a month or two later than in other parts of Cerrado Mineiro. Benedito faced challenges early on due to a lack of infrastructure and some knowledge about coffee production in the area. Soon, his son Rafael Inácio completed his degree in Agronomy and returned to join the operations at the farm, helping to develop the crops and achieving high quality results. Today, they cultivate coffee across 18 hectares of the 25 hectare property. They have embraced modern fermentation and processing, and dry their crop on concrete patios for uniform results.
