My Name is Sebastian Rametta or "Sebbie" to my family and friends. I was born in Italy on June 5, 1950. My family and I moved to Brazil when I was still a child and worked on a farm near the city of Sao Palo.

In 1965 I liked to dunk still-warm, fresh, plain donuts into my coffee. I was 15 years old, and just beginning my association with coffee. I added cream and one heaping teaspoon of sugar. Over the years I slowly reduced the sugar to a level teaspoon, then half, and finally none.

Coffee tasted better as an ice cream flavor than as a beverage. I loved coffee sundaes with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and nuts. Coffee as a drink had no attraction for me. It was palatable, and it did keep me awake, though.

Growing up on a farm and having a love of coffee I knew then that I wanted to become a coffee grower. I moved from the farm to the city of Sao Palo when I turned 18 and went to work in the coffee houses. It was a time of growth and many mistakes for me.

When I turned 23 I went on to work at an import export business that specialized in agricultural products being shipped all over the world from Brazil. At the age of 30 I decided I wished to become a coffee grower. I began my research and set a plan to have my own coffee farm. I continued to bounce from job to job searching for how I am going to achieve this.