The production of specialty coffees is an important activity for farm incomes and should be encouraged. However, it is necessary that this process may respect the principles based on the economic, environmental, and social axes of sustainability. This research was carried out aiming to generate the initial benchmark of the sustainability of four farms in the municipality of Afonso Cláudio, State of Espírito Santo, Brazil. The System for Assessing Sustainability Standards for Coffee Growing in Espírito Santo, a tool in the format of an electronic spreadsheet, was used in order to quantify the scores of the different standards. The results showed a gap in the three axes with intervention needs mainly related to economical standards, followed by environmental, and social ones. The main interferences have been related to the quality of coffee beans management, costs and incomes of the farms, improvement in harvest and post-harvest processes, training in the use of manual machines, and the correct use of pesticides. Different intervention techniques will be offered to coffee-growers for Viçosi et al.

Coffee growing is an important activity for the income of farms and the production of specialty coffees should be encouraged. However, it is necessary that this process respects the principles based on the economic, environmental, and social axes of sustainability. This research was carried out in the municipality of Conceição do Castelo, State of Espírito Santo, Brazil aiming to assess the initial benchmark of the sustainability of three farms. The results showed a gap in the three axes with intervention needs mainly related to economic standards, followed by social and environmental. Different interventions and adaptations need to be used on each farm aiming to reach better levels of adequacy according to sustainability criteria; however, the values of the families and their limitations must be respected, particularly the economic, social, and cultural conditions. The three coffee farms need adjustments for the production of specialty coffees, mainly related to economic criteria. In this way, farms will be able to reach new markets, add value to coffee beans, increase farm income and develop sustainability.