Rooted in History
The story of Nativa Coffee Imports began over a century ago and almost 4,000 miles away. In the late 1800s Jotham Lipsi's ancestors made their way from Italy to Brazil and found work on a coffee farm.
A generation later, Jotham's father Jonathan, an agronomist, bought a coffee farm in Minas Gerais, a southern state of Brazil renowned for its coffee production. The farm consisted of 500 acres and over 300,000 coffee trees. Jotham spent his childhood soaking up the lessons of coffee growing!
Brevard College brought Jotham to western North Carolina in 2004. Like most visitors, he fell in love with the area. He and his father established a coffee business supplying single-origin coffee from the Cerrado region of Brazil to local and commercial clients.
Brewing Something New
Using the experience gained from the commercial coffee business, Jotham created Nativa Coffee Imports as a way to combine his passion for coffee with his love for the mountains of western North Carolina.
As the leading coffee producer in the world, Nativa Coffee Imports primarily sources beans from the Cerrado region of Brazil. Our family still maintains close ties to the farms and farmers which we believe to be the root of our success connecting good people with great products.