By Clotilde Perez
A multisensory product par excellence, coffee is part of who we are. If Brazilian identity is linked to the land – we have known this since Pero Vaz de Caminha's letter of May 1, 1500 (...everything will grow in it...), the first national advertisement – coffee is in our DNA.
From the vibrant colors of the spherical and clustered green, red, or yellow fruits, contrasting with the darker green hues of the firm, shiny leaves on the branches, to the delicate white flowers, to the multiple browns of the earth and the roasts, to the intense or smooth flavors that can be sweet or bitter, to the aromas that incite memory and envelop, from energetic and cognitive stimulation to well-being and pleasure through dopamine release, coffee is pure sensitive immersion.
Figures 1 and 2: coffee on the plant and coffee after roasting. Orfeu Farms | Photos: Clotilde PerezA symbol of a country's greatness, of productive work, of employer and employee, of the complexity of processes, from the hoe to the satellite, of obsessive quality and precision, of contests, awards, and decorations, from the producer, the agronomist, the master roaster, the barista to the Q-grader, coffee is work and science.
In bean or ground form, it mobilizes a vast material culture that passes through the teapot, the strainer or filter, the cup or the American glass, the coffee maker or the thermal bottle. Short, carioca, long, double, espresso, filtered, with milk, decaffeinated, organic. But it can also be in capsules or drip. Coffee is versatile.
From the short break that rescues us amidst the weight of routine to the excuse for a meeting; from the most sophisticated to the most prosaic ritual, from the diminutive that diminishes nothing – "cafezinho" (a small cup of coffee) is affection and relationship.
This vast potential of meanings and so many other connections can be managed creatively and strategically as support and positioning for the most varied coffee brands, especially special ones, such as Orfeu coffee and its newest Microlot, which has just been launched at SP Arte 2024, at the Ibirapuera Art Biennial Pavilion, the Oscar Niemeyer Special Edition. From the coffee plantations surrounding the Santa Clara chapel - a gift from the architect to the farm workers, a work that moves with the singularity of its lines, the contrast of colors and the transcendence it provokes - to the home of art and for our delight. The Oscar Niemeyer Special Edition Microlot has packaging created by designer Pedro Cappeletti, inspired by the architect's works, for the bean, ground, capsule and drip versions, and carries the organicity and sophistication that made Niemeyer the emblem of monumental, curvilinear and symbolic architecture in Brazil and worldwide. The sensitivity of the architectural line, combined with the elegance of white with metallic touches of Orfeu's visual identity and Oscar Niemeyer's signature, make the packaging, too, art. Art on the outside, art on the inside. Special coffees, with all that this means: meticulous planting and harvesting, careful selection, progressive roasting, obsession with quality, an excellent team, all to ensure the best quality of the beverage and, with it, the best sensory experience.
Figure 3: Santa Clara Chapel, a work by Niemeyer for Fazenda Rainha, São Sebastião da Grama (SP) | Photo: Clotilde Perez
Figure 4: Oscar Niemeyer Special Edition Microlot Packaging | Photo: Clotilde PerezAnd the launch of the Oscar Niemeyer Special Edition Microlot coffee also features exclusive cups designed using Artificial Intelligence fed by the architect's works, a process conducted by the Crispin Porter + Bogusky (CP+B) agency. After the technological creation, the pieces were manually sculpted by plastic artist Lair Uaracy and ceramist Fernando Aidar, from the Caboco studio, who used the farm's own soil to make each piece. Creation with technology, meaning and art. The campaign also includes a commercial film that presents the entire process of planting and producing coffee, the Santa Clara chapel and the testimony of Niemeyer's great-grandson, recognizing the value of the project.
Figure 5: cups generated by AI and sculpted by plastic artist Lair Uaracy and ceramist Fernando Aidar, from Caboco studio | Photo: disclosureThe integration between form (packaging and cups inspired by Niemeyer) and content (special coffees) already carries enormous semiotic power, and when symbolic meanings (art, longevity, culture, gift...) are added to this mixture, the result is an aesthetic and seductive explosion. The symbiotic effect causes the fusion between the qualities of the objects and the sensitive interiority of those who experience them.