Brazilian Coffee Origin Culture and Planting History: The Story of Coffee Varieties' Origins and Introduction to Brazilian Coffee Bean Characteristics and Brewing Flavor

As the world's largest coffee exporting country, Brazil fills its streets and alleys with the aroma of coffee. It is renowned throughout the coffee market for its rich nutty and chocolate flavor profile and smooth texture. Let FrontStreet Coffee guide you through understanding Brazilian coffee, starting from its historical origins of cultivation.

The Cultivation History of Brazilian Coffee

Brazilian coffee beans were introduced from French Guiana (a country in northern South America) in 1720. At that time, Brazil was a Portuguese colony, while many other South American countries were Spanish colonies. This is why most South American countries speak Spanish, while Brazil speaks Portuguese.

A Portuguese military officer stationed in Brazil, wanting to bring Guiana's coffee beans to Brazil (when the export of coffee to other countries was strictly prohibited), captured the heart of the Guiana governor's wife and successfully brought coffee seeds into Brazil. From then on, coffee quickly adapted in Brazil, spreading from the north to the southeastern state of São Paulo. By 1845, Brazilian coffee beans already accounted for 45% of the world's total coffee bean production. Currently, Brazil is the world's number one coffee exporting country.

The early coffee varieties introduced to Brazil were Typica, but due to Typica's low yield, coffee farmers could not obtain corresponding profit returns. Therefore, in the 1860s, the higher-yielding Bourbon variety was introduced from Réunion Island. Currently, Brazil's main varieties are Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, Mundo Novo, and Catuai. Among them, Red Bourbon can be densely planted due to its tree shape, while its yield is 30% higher than Typica. The beans are relatively round and short, with rich berry acidity, noticeable cream and fragrance, and pure acidity.

Brazilian Specialty Coffee Growing Regions

Unlike other coffee-producing countries in Central and South America, Brazil has vast territory and prioritizes yield. Local altitudes are generally low, and coffee trees can be grown on large-scale flat areas below 1,000 meters. When coffee cherries mature, workers use machines for large-scale harvesting, saving considerable labor. The harvested coffee cherries are then processed by large green bean processing plants, with every step completed under commercial management models.

Brazilian coffee growers differ from many meticulous estate owners. Years ago, to help coffee trees better adapt to local terroir, Brazilians have cultivated coffee varieties that can grow in full sun exposure without shade. Additionally, the coffee trees are planted at lower altitudes, without sufficient time to absorb more nutrients and form unique aromas. Therefore, Brazilian coffee mostly has balanced, low-acidity, and smooth flavors, making it easily acceptable for first-time coffee drinkers.

As a mass coffee producer, Brazil naturally has more regions and larger areas than other countries. Currently, Brazil has 17 states producing coffee, mainly distributed in the southeast. The concentrated rainfall during the rainy season and mild climate conditions are very suitable for growing coffee trees. FrontStreet Coffee believes that the coffee produced in the southeastern states of Minas Gerais and São Paulo has the best quality. Among them, the Cerrado region in Minas is Brazil's first coffee region to receive origin certification, and the coffee produced there is almost all Arabica varieties with superior flavors. As a mature coffee region, Cerrado was the first area in Brazil to commercialize coffee, and many exporters have invested in large-scale coffee plantations here. FrontStreet Coffee's Frontsteet Brazil Daily Bean Coffee is selected from the famous Cerrado region.

FrontStreet Coffee's original intention in launching daily beans was to help coffee beginners understand the characteristics and properties expressed by different origins, processing methods, and varieties by tasting classic representative regional flavors, thereby enhancing their coffee knowledge. As a pivotal coffee powerhouse, Brazil naturally became part of FrontStreet Coffee's daily bean lineup.

Natural and Pulped Natural Processing Methods

Traditionally, the local harvest season in Brazil coincides with the dry season, making it very suitable for drying coffee green beans through natural processing. Traditional natural processing involves spreading everything flat on the ground, which can easily cause coffee beans to pick up earthy and woody off-flavors, leading to inconsistent quality levels.

After 1990, Brazil promoted the pulped natural method (also called semi-washed), which involves using flotation to remove defects and floaters, then using machines to peel off the skin, pulp, and part of the mucilage, followed by washing, and finally drying in the sun or in drying rooms. Compared to the washed method, the pulped natural method saves water and labor, significantly improving Brazilian coffee quality and presenting cleaner flavor profiles. Of course, some higher-demand coffee estates adopt sophisticated natural processing, such as FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen Estate green beans, which use natural processing.

Flavor Characteristics of Brazilian Coffee

To taste the described flavors of Brazilian coffee, FrontStreet Coffee recommends choosing freshly roasted coffee beans. Since coffee beans enter their optimal flavor period 4-7 days after roasting, after this time (about one and a half months after roasting), the coffee's aroma may have dissipated and some woody flavors may have developed. To avoid this situation, FrontStreet Coffee has mentioned it in many articles - most importantly, FrontStreet Coffee only ships coffee beans roasted within 5 days, so everyone can enjoy coffee with excellent flavors.

Both Brazilian coffee beans on FrontStreet Coffee's bean list are dominated by mellow bitter notes. FrontStreet Coffee uses medium-dark roasting to promote more caramelization reactions in the coffee beans. Considering that medium-dark roasted coffee receives heat for longer than light-roasted coffee, the internal structure of the beans will be fluffier than light-roasted coffee, thus having better water absorption effects. To avoid over-extraction, FrontStreet Coffee chooses a grind size with 75% pass-through rate on a #20 standard sieve, as well as 88°C water temperature, paired with FrontStreet Coffee's customary three-stage pouring method. A Kono dripper is used to make the extracted coffee taste rounder.

Hand-pour parameters: 88°C water temperature, granulated sugar grind size (75% pass-through rate on #20 standard sieve), 15g coffee beans, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, three-stage extraction.

In the first stage, gently inject 30g of water for blooming, with a blooming time of 30 seconds. In the second stage, inject water to about 125g, pouring evenly and steadily in outward circles. Then wait for the coffee liquid to drop, and when it drops to half, inject the final stage of water to 225g. Wait for all the coffee to finish dripping - the total extraction time is generally around 2 minutes.

Brewing flavor: FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Cerrado Daily Bean carries aromas of nuts, chocolate, and caramel, with noticeable aftertaste sweetness and an overall rounded feeling. The chocolate flavor is stable and persistent.

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