Tag: coffee

What makes us happy? O que nos faz felizes?

August 27, 2016

This is something I have asked myself many times in my life. During good times and bad, I’ve wondered what were the sequence of events that got me to that point. What do I need to change, and what do I need to continue doing. Attempting to figure out the things I need to be as happy as possible

Está é uma pergunta que fiz muitas vezes na minha vida. Nos bons e maus momentos. Eu tenho me perguntado quais foram as sequências de eventos que me levaram a essa ponto. O que preciso mudar e o que eu devo continuar fazendo. Tentando descobrir o que eu preciso para ser o mais feliz possível.

It wasn’t until recently, when Tati and I decided to leave our corporate jobs to pursue this new avenue, that some of these answers became abundantly clear.

Só recentemente, quando Tati e eu decidimos deixar nossos trabalhos corporativos para iniciar uma nova jornada, que algumas dessas respostas tornaram-se mais claras.

For me, it comes down to time, and freedom to do as I please, on my schedule, around those that are important to me. It comes down to having time to read more, learn more, pick up new skills and make stuff with my own 2 hands, more time to ride, have time to see or to speak to people as often as possible, and not have to worry about asking my boss for time off, or if it’s okay to leave early. To have time beside Tati and our animals, and time on the farm.

Para mim felicidade tem a ver com tempo, e liberdade para desfrutar com aqueles que são importantes para mim. Tem a ver com ter mais tempo para ler, aprender, desenvolver novas habilidades e construir coisas com as minhas mãos, mais tempo para andar de bike, mais tempo para ver e conversar com as pessoas, e não ter que me preocupar em pedir permissão para um chefe para tirar um dia de folga, ou se está tudo bem em sair um pouco mais cedo. Ter tempo livre ao lado da Tati e nossos animais, e tempo na nossa casa.

Ride more, be happy.

Hug more, be happy.

That’s what we all yearn for. More time and freedom. I honestly believe health and happiness go hand in hand with those things.

É tudo que todos nós queremos. Mais tempo e liberdade. Eu honestamente acredito que saúde e felicidade andam de mãos dadas com essas coisas.

It’s taken this resetting of our lives, to allow us to focus on what really makes us happy.

Tem sido necessário recomeçar para nos permitir focar no que realmente importa.

Like everybody else, I consumed needlessly for most of my working life and although there is nothing wrong with that, it was often on stuff I didn’t need. Over time I have learned that I don’t need 10 pairs of shoes, or several colour options of the same t-shirt. I’ve learned how to maintain and look after my bikes properly, and only buy things when I really need to. A lot of that comes down to living here in Brazil, of course. Imported items are heavily taxed and difficult to come by, so you learn to do with out, only then you realise, you didn’t need it anyway.

Assim como todo mundo, por muito tempo eu consumi mais do que realmente precisava e embora não tenha nada de errado nisso, na maior parte do tempo eram coisas que eu não precisava. Com o passar do tempo eu aprendi que não precisava de 10 pares de sapatos, ou a mesma camiseta em tantas cores. Eu aprendi como manter e cuidar das minhas bicicletas, e somente comprar quando era realmente necessário. Muito disso vem de viver aqui no Brasil, claro. Itens importados tem altas taxas de impostos e muita dificuldade em se conseguir, então aprendi viver sem, somente então você percebe que não precisa daquelas coisas.

When I sit down and make forecasts about the items we can produce and the services we can offer, the numbers are not “2 weeks in Barbados in the Winter” sort of numbers. Even if I make unrealistic forecasts, we have to reside ourselves to the fact that we won’t have that much money, for a long time. We will be working all day, every day, by ourselves mostly, just to get by. It’s not a fairy tale. But we’re all right with it, we have a roof, we have this place, we have food and the animals knocking about our feet. We have love, time, our health and our families and friends.

Quando me sento para fazer planos sobre quantos itens podemos produzir ou serviços podemos oferecer, os números não são o tipo de números “2 semanas em Barbados no inverno”. Mesmo se eu fizesse um planejamento irreal, nós temos que nos lembrar de que não teremos muito dinheiro, por um bom tempo. Estaremos trabalhando o dia todo, todos os dias, por nossa conta, somente para conseguir viver. Não é um conto de fadas, mas nós estamos cientes disso. Temos um teto, temos esse lugar, temos comida, e animais ao nosso redor. Temos amor, tempo, nossa saúde e nossos familiares e amigos.

We aren’t under any illusions, it takes time, blood, sweat and tears to grow a business, just like it does to raise a loaf of bread with natural leaven, or to grow vegetables in the garden. But the beauty is in the middle of that time. There are no unreasonable deadlines, no angry boss, no late nights sat in front of a computer producing drawings for a phantom project. There is time, time to listen to the birds, play with the dogs, take a bike ride, ride the trails, train, laugh, read, study, take a long breakfast and think “when was the last time I wore shoes?”.

Não estamos iludidos, isso leva tempo, suor e lágrimas para fazer nosso negócio crescer, do mesmo jeito que acontece para fazer um pão de fermentação natural, ou plantar vegetais na horta, mas a beleza está no caminho. Não existem prazos de entregas insensatos, ou chefes nervosos, tarde da noite sentado em frente ao computador produzindo desenhos para um projeto fantasma. Há tempo, tempo para ouvir os passarinhos, brincar com os cachorros, andar de bicicleta, andar nas trilhas, treinar, rir, ler, estudar e longos café da manhã e pensar ” quando foi a última vez que usei sapatos?”.

Our idea is to create something individualistic, a place that is unique, warm and welcoming. A place where we and you can take a step back and just make it a bit simpler for a time being. Our focus is on the simplest things, good baked food, bread recipes as old as time itself, bicycles and coffee. It doesn’t get much simpler.

Nossa ideia é criar algo único, um lugar único e aconchegante. Um lugar onde todos nós possamos tomar um passo atrás e fazer as coisas um pouco mais simples. Nosso foco está nas coisas simples, boa comida, receitas de pão, tão velhos como o tempo. Bicicleta e café.

Life is short, friends and we just get one of ’em. Sacrifice some of the bullshit to get back what’s rightfully yours. Your time.

A vida é curta, amigos. E nós só temos uma. Sacrifique algumas das idiotices para voltar-se ao que é por direito seu. Seu tempo.

Sobre a vida no campo <3

October 22, 2015

by oficina74

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E hoje me peguei pesquisando sobre causas e efeitos de ervas daninhas na horta e consequentemente nos efeitos que a vida no campo tem nos causado.

Um ano e 2 meses morando nesse cantinho especial, mas foi somente nos últimos 2 meses que passamos a viver intensamente cada pedacinho desse lugar.

São incontáveis os aprendizados até o momento e vamos tentar compartilhar ao máximo aos nossas experiências, mas neste post quero falar um pouco sobre como a nossa relação com a natureza tem nos moldado todos os dias.

Morando em uma cidade como São Paulo é muito mais difícil se perceber como apenas mais uma espécie desse planeta, mas aqui… aqui somos só mais um.

Cercados por tanta vida verde, insetos fofos e outros nem tão fofos assim, sobrevoados e observados por pássaros aqui somos nós quem pedimos permissão pra viver e aprendemos observando como a natureza é perfeita e como ela se basta.

Um dia desses notamos a presença de uma coruja em um tronco seco e como ela era linda. Corremos pegar a camera pra tirar algumas fotos.

Mas surpresa mesmo foi no dia seguinte perceber que tinha um filhotinho de coruja naquele tronco e encontrar o mesmo caído perto do nosso portão.

Logo assumimos que ele precisava de ajuda e trouxemos pra casa. Um amigo do Dan que é especialista em pássaros nos orientou colocar o filhotinho coruja de volta o mais perto possível do ninho e deixar a natureza seguir seu curso.

Assim fizemos e passamos os dias seguintes só observando tudo que acontecia naquele pedacinho do nosso quintal. Coisa linda <3

O pai e a mãe coruja passavam o dia todo em uma árvore próxima ao ninho de olho no filhotinho. Quando o sol se punha os dois voavam sem parar em direção à floresta trazendo comidinhas para o bebezinho coruja.

A evolução do corujinha foi incrível. Em poucos dias ele já estava em um dos troncos da árvore treinando o vôo. Pulando de um galho pra outro e testando a potência de suas asas.

No dia seguinte ele simplesmente voou e para nós ficou somente a lição. A natureza é perfeita e ela se basta.

Baking Bread to Make Bread.

September 14, 2015

by oficina74

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50/50 White/Wholegrain Sourdough Mini loaves

Bread. 3 simple ingredients, combined in different ways, in different environments, and in different styles to create a plethora of choices. Flour, water, salt. That’s it. Combined in such a way, baked in such a way, presented in such a way that really, no one loaf is like any other. The water you use, the oven you have fired, the pot you bake in, the kneading, the folding, the time you set aside for rising, the slicing, the dusting, the cooling. All of these things come together to make your bread truly unique.

Sourdough

I have been baking bread for essentially no time at all. Honestly, I don’t know the first thing about it. However, I have developed a timing pattern that works, an oven temperature that works, my clay pot that works and I have found a recipe that I stick to, to the gram, that works.

I play about with the mix sometimes though, add more wholegrains or rye flours, experiment with stronger flour, with pure wheat gluten, and I have experimented baking with olives, cranberries, chia or other seeds stuffed into the dough.

But for me, a plain white sourdough bread hits the spot, it’s the one I have focussed more time and energy into perfecting, and it seems to be working. Sourdough is one of the simplest forms of bread, the 3 ingredients, combined with time and patience can yield amazing results. My bread has a long way to go, but I feel at a stage where I could sell this bread, it’s handmade, with water from the farms well and nothing else added. It’s as simple as it gets, and it makes great fucking sandwiches.

Sandwiches. Who needs anything else.

I don’t really know where my journey started with bread, or why I even started baking, but I took a simple recipe from a book and gave it a shot, I began to read more, about processes and times, I began following some master bakers and individuals on instagram and blogs that I thought had a unique and polarizing style. I looked to their breads with envy and pushed myself to learn more about the process. Somehow, along the way, I started to think about sourdough, it was the bread I always went for in the delis in New York if the choice was there, I loved the chewy texture, the slight sour undertone and the crisp, thick crust. This was the bread I wanted to bake.

Sourdough is basically bread baked using natural fermentation, creating your own local yeast, maintaining it, and getting it active enough to raise dough, and bake beautiful bread. Essentially, it’s flour + water x time.

Here at the farm, we’re lucky enough to have a well, it gives clean, fresh water, free from a lot of the chemicals associated with water from the tap in the average city, and my starter began to behave wonderfully with it. Some chemicals in treated water can have detrimental affects to your culture. The man is always trying to fuck up our culture, man.

The Starter

Once my starter was bubbling away, I attempted my first sourdough loaf. Although it tasted all right, it wasn’t much of a looker, but this was the real beginning to baking.

Early Sourdough

Over the next months I began using different flours, developing my yeast and giving it some “double feeds” to get him leaping over buildings, I bought a large clay pot to bake the loaves in, and finally, even bought a few proofing baskets, brought all the way from the UK, (thanks Mum).

Once the new kitchen has been roofed, our first purchase will be a large bread oven, capable of baking 5-6 loaves at a time, I’ll probably go back to square one at this point, as learning the behaviour and timing of your oven is a quintessential step in the process. But I know I’ll figure it out, and soon I’ll be proving fresh, handmade, sourdough bread to the local area surrounding the farm. Soon, we’ll be baking bread to make a little bread.

Sourdough, 70% Hydration, 15% rye mix.

Building the Dream

September 8, 2015

by oficina74

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The farm has become a construction site. It breaks my heart a little bit to see it like this, but deep down, I know this is what needs to happen now to create the space we have dreamed of in the future.

We are in Phase 1 of the developments, destroying and rebuilding the old poolside house, an old building comprising of concrete blocks and an old asbestos roof with no windows, into a fully functioning kitchen with a wood oven, bread oven, pizza oven, BBQ and blenders and stand mixer. They’ll be a coffee bar offering chemex, aeropress, french press and hario drip style drinks, espresso drinks, cakes, breads and juices, a large unisex toilet with disabled access, a wood beam and tile roof, large windows for natural light and creating a space that flows and will invite people to come, stay and enjoy our farm.

It’ll not come easy, though!

Phase 1 also incudes creating paths through the property, so people can walk amongst the orchards, the vegetables, see the food they’re eating being cultivated and prepared. It also includes the rebuilding of an old stable building into the bicycle workshop and creative space. The building of a deck, a reworking of the pool, irrigation systems, shade spots, a fire pit, additional planting of plants to increase the amount of wildlife we receive, improve cross pollination and also create an environment that sustains itself, healthily without the use of agro-toxins.

There is so much to do, it’s overwhelming and terrifying. My Mum is here with us and she has been a huge help in getting things moving, advising us on plants, crops, rotation, what to plant where and what next to. She also paid for the new artesian well and roof structure, something profoundly generous. Thanks, Mum.

Water is one of the biggest issues here, we have a groundwater well, that has, in the past ran dry. During the last 18 months of drought, this has become a daily worry and concern. We are harvesting rainwater and soon, all grey water, too. But still, when we have people here, we cannot have this issue. We also want to increase how much we’re planting, and for this, we need water. The artesian well will go to around 50m and tap the arteries of many of the surrounding aquifers. This will relinquish us from worry and provide natural, clean and abundant water.

Archaic Bruv

All of this work will hopefully be completed in the next 2 months. Tati and I are aiming to start receiving people here in the beginning of the summer, around December, drop in for some sourdough and a cup o’ joe!