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Brazil Bourbon Coffee Story: Variety Introduction, Brazilian Coffee Bean Brands, Images, Flavor Characteristics, and Taste Description

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, For professional barista discussions, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer, providing nearly 45% of the world's green coffee beans. The length of the country's dry season can even affect global coffee prices. Brazil's main producing regions include Minas Gerais Mina

Brazilian coffee cultivation began in 1727 when a Portuguese army officer brought coffee from French Guiana to Brazil. Since then, coffee quickly adapted in Brazil, spreading from the north to the southeastern state of São Paulo and the southern state of Paraná. These regions have slightly higher latitudes and experience winter frosts, causing severe losses for coffee farmers.

From 1970 to 1980, Brazilian farmers developed the warmer regions of northern São Paulo state, including Minas Gerais and Bahia. These areas have warm winters without frost, and to this day, Minas Gerais has become one of Brazil's main specialty coffee producing regions.

Before 1990, the Brazilian government maintained strict control over the coffee industry, implementing both severe interference and price protection measures. The state consistently enforced minimum price protection for farmers, which led to coffee overproduction.

Since 1990, with the opening of the free market, the original Brazilian Coffee Institute (IBC) was replaced by the state's non-investment administrative body - the National Economic Association. This association pursued a non-interference policy, allowing producers and exporters to negotiate directly. Export business activities are supervised by government legislation, and relevant departments register legitimate exporters. From three centuries ago to the present, coffee has become Brazil's primary economic source, while Brazil has also become the world's largest coffee-producing nation.

Brazilian Coffee Bean Flavor Characteristics

Brazil cultivates both major coffee varieties - Arabica and Robusta - with Arabica being primarily dominated by the Bourbon variety. Bourbon is a subspecies that mutated from Typica, and both are among the oldest existing coffee varieties. When green fruits mature, they display bright red color. Bourbon grown at high altitudes typically offers better aroma and bright acidity.

Bourbon varieties are classified by fruit color into Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, Orange Bourbon, and Pink Bourbon. Yellow Bourbon has relatively lower yields but superior quality. Brazil predominantly grows Red Bourbon, with only a few regions cultivating Yellow Bourbon.

Despite having excellent coffee varieties, Brazilian coffee is grown at altitudes of approximately 400-1,600 meters, which is relatively low compared to Central American coffee. This results in Brazilian coffee beans having lower density, leading to less premium quality flavor profiles compared to many high-altitude growing regions. Brazilian coffee features simple flavor profiles with smooth, balanced taste, nutty aromas, grassy notes, and chocolate flavors, without excessive acidity or bitterness. This makes it commonly used in espresso blends. However, coastal Rio coffee even carries iodine and salty flavors, considered to result from certain microbial interactions. Yet even when using the same soil for cultivation, this flavor doesn't necessarily develop every year.

Later, Brazil underwent several coffee quality improvement reforms, including clear classification systems and unified mechanical harvesting operations, which stabilized Brazilian coffee quality. Combined with Brazil's large coffee production volume, this gives Brazil significant influence in the commercial market.

How FrontStreet Coffee Selects Brazilian Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee offers two Brazilian coffee beans in their selection: Red Bourbon from the Cerrado region and Yellow Bourbon from Brazil's Queen Farm.

Cerrado Red Bourbon

Cerrado belongs to the Minas Gerais state and is a high-quality coffee producing region in Brazil. This area represents the essence of the Cerrado savanna, with high altitudes and fertile soil, enabling the cultivation of sweet, full-bodied, and clean specialty coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee has sampled coffee from all major Brazilian producing regions, finding that Cerrado offers the most stable and distinctive flavor profile among large producing regions. This Brazilian Red Bourbon bean is used in FrontStreet Coffee's espresso blend formulas and also serves as a representative single-origin daily drinker showcasing Brazilian regional flavors.

Queen Farm Yellow Bourbon

Queen Farm (Fazenda Rainha) is located in the Alta Mogiana region of São Paulo state, north of São Paulo city. This farm enjoys high recognition in Brazil and is owned by the Carvalho Dias family. The Carvalho Dias family owns four major farms that have won awards every year since the first Brazil Cup of Excellence (COE) competition in 1999, winning more than 12 times in 7 years. In 2004, they even swept the championship, 9th place, and 11th place.

Yellow Bourbon coffee beans are inherently sweet and clean. Using natural processing reduces its acidity slightly while integrating well with sweetness, achieving excellent balance with tropical fruit aromas. FrontStreet Coffee positions this FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Queen Farm Yellow Bourbon as a Brazilian specialty coffee bean.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations

Brewing Parameters: Using Kono dripper

Water Temperature: 88°C

Coffee Amount: 15 grams

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: Medium-fine grind (70-75% retention rate on China standard #20 sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee employs segmented extraction, also known as three-stage brewing: Use 30g of water for bloom for 30 seconds. When pouring with small water flow in circles to 125g, create a segment. Continue pouring to 225g when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed. Remove the dripper when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed (timing starts from bloom). Extraction time is 2'05"-2'15".

FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Queen Farm Brewing Flavor: Fresh sweetness of sugarcane juice, black tea, smooth fruit sweetness, distinct nutty flavors, balanced and smooth acidity, clean and mild bitterness, with rich chocolate aroma and nutty flavors, bright and refreshing mouthfeel, smooth and delicate texture.

FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Cerrado Red Berry Brewing Flavor: Obvious sweetness upon entry, accompanied by light lemon aroma, containing rich nutty flavors, with distinct dark chocolate flavors in the aftertaste, overall feeling is rather rounded.