Migration history

Growing up in Rio de Janeiro, Cristina had the opportunity to visit the family coffee farm every summer and winter holidays. That’s three months - December, January, and February - in the summer, and another few weeks for the winter. She not only learned a lot about coffee as a product from her time at the farm but also a lot about respect for the land and the workers, just as her grandparents instilled in her. 

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“My grandparents were always very, very hardworking people and determined, and very, very respectful of the land and of the people that worked for them. So that really shaped who I am and how I run my business.”

Cristina’s story in Canada began when her father, a professor visiting UBC, brought her to Vancouver for two years as a teenager. Five years later, she returned to UBC accompanying her father once again, but also as a visiting student where she “totally fell in love with the school”. 

“There were very, very few Brazilians here when I first moved here… Most of my friends were Canadians… And then over the years, the melting pot became larger and larger and the diversity is growing more and more… Now we have a pretty large Brazilian population. I think, last I heard it was around 10,000. When I came, I think we had like 800.”

During these years, she gradually established a routine, social network, and sprouted a relationship with her partner at the time. Due to various reasons, she decided to return to Brazil, where she found herself not too happy. This period was short-lived and she ended up moving back to Vancouver, driven by both academic pursuits and a desire to rejoin her partner in Vancouver. Even though the relationship didn’t work out in the end, Cristina decided to stay put in Vancouver and make it her permanent home. 

Starting Mogiana Coffee as an immigrant to Vancouver, Cristina faced many challenges regarding both her business as well as adjusting to a new place without her family.

“One thing about being an immigrant is you never feel like you belong 100% to one place. When I’m here [in Vancouver], I always have that little…I miss home, I miss my family. My entire family’s there [in Brazil]. I have a huge family. And then when I go there, I don’t feel at home anymore either, because I’ve been here for so long, so this is my home now. So you’re always kind of, like, in limbo a little bit. I guess you can take the best of both worlds.”

Connecting Vancouver and Brazil through Coffee Beans

Much like many other Vancouverites and Brazilians, Cristina integrates coffee into her daily routine – be it a morning pour-over or a strong post-meal cup. Inspired by her cousin’s coffee business using their family beans, it became a natural choice to introduce these same beans to Canada. Mogiana Coffee mainly operates through a B2B model, supplying their beans to local grocery stores, restaurants, and hotels. However, for those seeking a more direct experience, keep an eye out for their occasional presence at summertime farmer’s markets!

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