An Interview with Leticia “Frau Cachaca” Nobauer

An Interview with Leticia “Frau Cachaca” Nobauer

Letícia “Frau Cachaça” Nobauer is a Brazilian living in Austria, who is an expert in both cachaça and wine. She has a thriving import business and is creating tons of great cachaça content on social media. You can find her social media links here: https://linktr.ee/fraucachaca

She’s also a great collaborator and has become a friend in the cachaça industry. I got a chance to ask her a few questions about her background, her life in Austria, and about her business success.

 

 

1.   Tell me about who you are and where you came from.

My name is Leticia Nöbauer. I come from the interior of São Paulo, more precisely from Sorocaba, in other words - a native hillbilly. I am a wine sommelier, I graduated with a degree in tourism in Austria and today I work as Frau Cachaça.

 

2.   What were your first experiences with cachaça?

Certainly at home, with my father. My paternal grandfather and my uncle also loved cachaça and consumed it daily. It was from them that I learned to like Rabo de Galo too. But there is a funny story of how I drank cachaça for the first time. It was unintentional and I was about 9 years old. I confused  cachaça bottle with a soda bottle and drank it all at once. I even did a Podcast on that story.

 

3.   You live in Austria now. Did you decide to work with cachaça before or after moving?  

I left Brazil very early. I was only 19 years old. I had to start my life all over again: enter university again. Get a driver's license again. The idea of Frau Cachaça came when I was majoring in Hospitality and Tourism. I worked at a Boutique Wine Hotel in Vienna and people at the bar always asked me where to buy the good “Brazilian rum”. At the time, I explained and defended cachaça tooth and nail. So, I decided to import myself and sell.

  

4.   What inspired you to import cachaça?  

My love for my culture and my country. In addition, I wanted to be known worldwide for being a Cachaça Ambassador. This is still my dream: to be able to travel the whole world representing cachaça.

 

5.   What cachaça do you import to Austria?

The products I sell change a lot. Originally I started importing the most awarded cachaças or those that I liked most in Brazil. Over time I started to understand better the market demand and also changed a little. But I have very different cachaças, from various regions of Brazil, from silver to Extra Premium 12 years - in this case, the legend Havana Anísio Santiago. As everything is always changing, it is always good to take a look to see what is available.

 

6.   You post a lot on Instagram, especially in Portuguese. Why do you think it is so important to stay connected with the cachaça community in Brazil?

At the beginning, I really wanted to represent cachaça on the German market. Over time, I started posting in English because I realized the same thing as you: it was necessary to talk about cachaça in a professional way for a more international audience. However my instagram just started to grow (and my sales too) when I started posting more in Portuguese. I understood that in order to sell better out here I needed to show my work in Brazil. In addition, it is from there that we get our information and Brazilians consume much more social networks of all types than Austrians or Germans. That is why I post most of the time in Portuguese, then English and finally German. Ironically, sales here have increased, even though Austrians don't understand what I write: they find it interesting and original.

 

 

7.   What is the most difficult part of talking to people who know nothing about cachaça in Austria and Germany?

Demystifying and explaining what cachaça is and that it is not a rum.

 

8.   You also have a podcast. Is your podcast always in Portuguese or in German too?

My podcast follows the same line as Instagram: first in Portuguese, then in German. In English I haven't posted anything yet, but it would be interesting. Shall we do this together?

(EDITOR’S NOTE: YES!)

 

9.   What is your favorite cachaça at the moment? Brand or barrel type.

I change my taste like I change my clothes. I always have the cachaça of the moment: now I am in love with blends of all kinds. But in the summer I like silver more.

 

10.                 What do you expect for your business next year?

I hope to have more customers in gastronomy again. COVID came to teach us a lot but I lost the few customers I had in gastronomy in general. Which is a shame, but I am not sleeping on the spot and I am learning a lot. In addition, I want to represent some brand abroad. Travel and become Brand Ambassador.

Cachaça yourself, baby!

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