“The most special thing of all is making the impossible possible. Europe does not have the climate or conditions to produce coffee. What we called it was ‘Impossible Coffee” said Rui Miguel Nabeiro in statements Lusa agency.

He added: “Europe, being one of the largest consumers, did not produce coffee and now it has become possible to produce coffee in Europe, particularly in Portugal and the Azores”.

Delta Cafés announced in Lisbon the launch of the Azores coffee batch, which resulted from a partnership between the Government of the Azores and the Association of Azorean Coffee Producers, which will be available in "Delta The Coffee House Experience" stores.

The group's executive director recalled that the “dream” of producing coffee in Portugal began in 2018, when the company joined International Coffee Partners.

That year, Delta became aware of the existence of small coffee producers in the Azores and the following year it promoted a study to “understand which coffee species” were most suitable for the Azorean climate, an investigation that resulted in a report delivered to the regional executive.

“Over the last four years, we have been supporting all small coffee producers in the Azores. At this point, as there is already some coffee, we ended up being able, commercially, to launch a batch with 100% Portuguese coffee, 100% coffee from the Azores”, he highlighted.

The coffee now available is Arabica, but Rui Miguel Nabeiro highlights that the Azorean islands are capable of producing other types of coffee.

“The Azores have a very favourable climate. It is a very humid climate, with constant rain and mild temperatures. The volcanic land itself, which we would think would make plantation difficult, ends up having, at the end of these last four years of studies, optimal conditions for the production of at least six species of coffee,” he stated.

Delta's executive director highlights, however, that there is still “a long way to go” to “stimulate coffee production” in the archipelago.

“The coffee that will be produced in the Azores is a specialty coffee, with a very unique flavour, with an extremely high quality. There won’t be large volumes, but above all, very, very good coffee,” he stressed.