Brazil Cerrado Coffee Pour-Over Method Taste Flavor Characteristics Brazil Cerrado Coffee Bean Roasting Records

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Brazil ranks first in global coffee production, and any impact on the country's coffee output directly affects global coffee fluctuations. As the world's largest coffee-producing nation, Brazil's Cerrado coffee beans from the central-western region of Minas province deserve special mention. FrontStreet Coffee's daily bean series includes a Brazilian Red Bourbon coffee bean, featuring distinct chocolate and nutty flavors with moderate body and smoothness—making it an excellent choice for those who dislike acidic coffee.

Customers who visit FrontStreet Coffee typically fall into two categories: those who prefer acidic flavors and those who enjoy full-bodied profiles. FrontStreet Coffee has representative coffee beans to recommend for both types. For those who prefer full-bodied flavors and are new to coffee, FrontStreet Coffee recommends this Brazilian Cerrado Red Bourbon coffee bean because its flavor profile is distinctly classic and easily recognizable even for occasional coffee drinkers.

Brazil: The Coffee Kingdom

Brazil is located in the Western Hemisphere's Latin American region, eastern South America, along the western Atlantic coast. Except for Ecuador and Chile, it shares borders with all countries on the South American continent. Most of its territory lies between the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn, making it the country with the world's most extensive tropical range. One-third of its territory has a tropical rainforest climate, while two-thirds has a tropical savanna climate. These superior tropical natural conditions are highly suitable for the growth and production of tropical economic crops like coffee.

Brazil has fully utilized its tropical geographical environment, emphasizing coffee production and sales, enabling its coffee production, export volume, and per capita consumption to consistently rank first in the world for many years, earning it the reputation as the "Kingdom of Coffee."

Brazilian Coffee Flavor: Smooth and Sweet

Compared to other countries in Central and South America, Brazilian coffee growing regions have significantly lower altitudes, flat terrain, lack of microclimates, and coffee trees grown without shade. Therefore, Brazilian coffee characteristics feature a unique "soft bean" flavor—low acidity, nutty notes, chocolate sweetness, balanced acidity and bitterness, good body, usually with some woody and earthy notes, quite different from the distinct floral and citrus aromas of African beans.

Five Flavor Classifications of Brazilian Coffee Based on Aroma

Brazilian coffee emphasizes the characteristic body and sweetness of soft beans, presenting an overall mild and smooth profile. Therefore, five grades are used to distinguish different soft beans! These are, in order: Strictly Soft, Soft, Softish, Hardish, and Rioy.

Regional Classification of the Five Grades

Strictly Soft: South Minas, Cerrado, Mogiana, and Planalto da Bahia.

Soft: Bahia, southeastern mountainous regions of Minas, Paraná, central-western São Paulo, and mountainous regions of Espírito Santo.

Softish: Eastern and northeastern Minas.

Hardish: Low-altitude areas of Paraná and Espírito Santo.

Rioy: Flatlands of Espírito Santo and lower-altitude areas of southeastern Minas.

Although Brazilian coffee may seem somewhat monotonous, recent years have seen numerous specialty beans from Brazil, with South Minas, Cerrado, Mogiana, and Planalto da Bahia showing the most potential!

Brazilian Coffee Bean Growing Regions

São Paulo State (Mogiana, Centro-Oeste)

Paraná State (Norte Pioneiro do Paraná)

Bahia State (Planalto da Bahia, Cerrado da Bahia, Atlântico Baiano)

Espírito Santo State (Montanhas do Espírito Santo, Conilon Capixaba)

Minas Gerais State (Sul de Minas, Cerrado Mineiro, Chapada de Minas, Matas de Minas)

Rondônia State (Rondônia)

Rio de Janeiro State (Rio de Janeiro)

São Paulo State

Mogiana

This region is very close to southern Minas. Coffee is grown among shrubs, grasslands, and other vegetation. In this area, there are many farming families, some operating traditional large farms while others adopt small-scale modern operations. The combination of modern technology and mountain coffee cultivation culture has created the highest quality Brazilian coffee beans.

Centro-Oeste (Garça, Marília and Piraju)

Brazilian coffee beans in this region are typically grown using large estates combined with traditional production lines. Although production seems to be decreasing, there is a greater focus on producing higher quality green beans.

Paraná State

Norte Pioneiro do Paraná

This state was once Brazil's largest producing region and currently has its unique production technology. After discovering declining unit yields in coffee forests, Paraná producers created a new "closed planting system." Currently, numerous coffee trees per hectare can better withstand cold winds while ensuring more consistent yields.

Bahia State

Atlântico Baiano

Mainly produces Robusta beans in large farms.

Planalto da Bahia

This region is located in central Bahia, mainly producing hand-picked Arabica coffee. Primarily uses the washed processing method.

Cerrado da Bahia

This region is located in western Bahia and is widely considered the newest Brazilian coffee bean growing area. Modern technologies for irrigation and harvesting are extensively used in this region.

Espírito Santo State

Montanhas do Espírito Santo and Conilon Capixaba

This state is mainly divided into two regions. The north, whether in large or small estates, grows Robusta beans; the south produces typical mountain-grown coffee, generally in smaller quantities. Both washed and natural processing methods are used in this region.

Minas Gerais State

Sul de Minas (South Minas)

Small estate region producing about 8-10 million bags of mountain-grown Brazilian coffee beans. Suitable altitude, undulating terrain, and coffee-friendly climate with concentrated rainfall during the fruit growing months and dry climate during harvest months.

Cerrado Mineiro

Among Brazil's vast 27,000 square kilometers of coffee bean cultivation area, the most famous growing region is undoubtedly the Cerrado region in Paraná State, southern Brazil. Unlike other Brazilian regions that compete on quantity, Cerrado region's coffee beans are renowned for their quality.

Cerrado actually occupies 22% of Brazil's total area as a vast savanna. The plateau in the southern part of Brazil's Cerrado savanna climate zone is rich in native plant species and animals. The Portuguese word "Cerrado" means "closed place." The Cerrado savanna originates from Mato Grosso province in southwestern Brazil, extending through central-western Minas to western Bahia province. FrontStreet Coffee's reference to the Cerrado coffee growing region does not mean the entire Cerrado savanna, but is limited to coffee cultivation areas above 1000 meters altitude in central-western Minas province that can be called Cerrado coffee growing regions. This area represents the essence of the Cerrado savanna, with distinct wet and dry seasons and a relatively cooler plateau climate, allowing coffee cherries to mature more uniformly.

The Cerrado growing region has an altitude of approximately 1000 meters, with an average annual temperature of around 21°C. Most importantly, the local soil is very fertile and rich in minerals, allowing coffee beans to receive ample nutrition. High altitude and fertile soil are essential for producing specialty coffee beans that are sweet, full-bodied, and clean.

Cerrado is a renowned premium coffee growing region in Brazil, with relatively refined processing methods. Unlike Brazilian Santos coffee which uses natural processing, Cerrado coffee beans often use washed or semi-washed processing methods. Premium Cerrado coffee contains nutty aromas, with a mouthfeel similar to Brazilian Santos but more refined and clean. Moderate aroma, smooth and soft entry with a slightly sweet finish, charming sweetness, and special flavors of tropical fruits and nuts with almonds. The entry features tropical fruits and nutty almond aromatics, while the aftertaste carries genmaicha tea flavor notes. At lower temperatures, it reveals different layers of almond sweetness, milky notes, and tea aromas.

FrontStreet Coffee — Brazilian Cerrado Red Bourbon

Country: Brazil

Region: Cerrado

Altitude: 1000 meters

Variety: Red Bourbon

Processing: Semi-natural

Flavor: Roasted nuts, chocolate, cream, peanuts, caramel

Roasting Recommendations

Brazilian coffee beans are characterized by their body, and FrontStreet Coffee uses medium roasting to highlight this flavor profile.

Machine: Yangjia 800N, green beans 550g

Entry temperature: 160°C

Yellowing point: 6'52", 145.2°C

First crack: 10'46", 186.8°C

Development after first crack: 3'00", discharged at 202.5°C

How Does FrontStreet Coffee Brew Cerrado Coffee Beans?

Brewing Parameters

Dripper: Kono dripper

Water temperature: 88°C

Coffee dose: 15g

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Grind size: Medium-fine grind (70-75% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve)

For darker roasted coffee beans that emphasize body, FrontStreet Coffee chooses the Kono dripper for brewing. The Kono dripper's characteristic is its immersion function, which can use immersion to extract more coffee compounds, enhancing the full-bodied mouthfeel. Because its ribs are few and located at the bottom, it allows the filter paper to fit tightly against the dripper to achieve air restriction effects, thereby slowing water flow and increasing water-coffee contact time.

The water temperature choice of 88°C is relatively low for brewing, which can avoid extracting excessive undesirable flavors from the coffee beans during the brewing process, because the darker the roast, the more these undesirable flavors increase.

FrontStreet Coffee uses segmented extraction, with 30g of water for blooming for 30 seconds, then small circular pouring until 125g when segmented, continue pouring to 225g when the water level drops to expose the coffee bed (timing starts from bloom), with extraction time of 2 minutes.

Cerrado Coffee Flavor Description

Entry shows obvious sweetness, accompanied by light lemon aromatics, containing rich nutty flavors, with distinct dark chocolate notes in the later stages, presenting an overall rounded sensation.

Brazilian Coffee Processing Methods

The four most common processing methods are: natural processing, pulped natural processing, semi-washed processing, and washed processing, with natural processing being the most popular. Since Brazil's two main producing regions, Cerrado Mineiro and Mogiana Paulista, both have harvest seasons during the dry season of the year, natural processing is highly prevalent in these regions.

Natural Processing

Natural processing differs significantly from the washed methods used in other Central American countries and Colombia. Because the term "unwashed" cannot fully capture the essence of this processing technique, Brazilians ultimately chose the same term "natural" as Ethiopian coffee. However, it's important to note that Brazilian natural processing differs from traditional Ethiopian natural processing. What Brazilians call "natural" refers to the harvesting technique rather than the traditional processing method, because Brazilians allow coffee to fully absorb sunlight on the branches and reach complete maturity before harvesting.

In Brazil, freshly harvested cherries are placed on patios to dry. The dried fruits are called "Boia" (meaning "ball" in English) by locals. As I mentioned earlier, all coffee is harvested without sorting, so during the drying process, many coffee cherries are already overripe and become raisin-like after drying. In more modern plantations, workers first screen the coffee before drying, removing unripe cherries by placing all fruits in water tanks—unripe fruits, being lighter, float on the surface, and workers use siphon equipment to remove these floating cherries. However, in relatively backward plantations, workers lack sufficient cash equipment, and unripe cherries cannot be completely removed, which is why many Brazilian natural coffees contain many unripe coffee beans.

Traditionally, naturally processed coffees typically carry leather, tobacco, and woody flavors, but Brazilian natural processing brings sweet tastes and balanced fruit aromas to coffee. Dr. Flávio Borem from the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA) has conducted in-depth research on natural processing of green coffee beans. According to his theory, when using natural processing for green coffee beans, people must strictly control the metabolic rate during drying to maximize the retention of coffee's sweetness, flavor complexity, and mouthfeel body. Only by strictly controlling external temperature and fruit drying speed can people ensure the integrity of coffee's cellular structure. During drying, coffee cell walls are easily damaged. Once the cellular structure is destroyed, coffee quality cannot be guaranteed.

Pulped Natural Processing

Next, let's discuss pulped natural processing. This method was introduced to Brazil 25 years ago by the well-known equipment manufacturing company Pinhalense. Pulped natural processing is Brazil's second most prevalent green coffee processing method, which Brazilians call "Cereja Descascado" ("Descascado" means "peeled," "Cereja" means "fruit"). In Central American countries, this method is also called "honey processing." When using this method for green bean processing, a pulper is essential. Coffee processed this way has extremely prominent sweetness and unique flavors. The pulper separates the coffee cherry's skin and pulp from the green beans. After completing the pulping step, people wash the mucilage on the green bean surface to the ideal degree, then proceed with drying. The uniqueness of this method is that the green beans don't undergo fermentation. Since some mucilage remains attached to the green bean surface, the drying process must be quick to prevent coffee from spoiling or molding. Once dried, people place the green beans in wooden boxes called "Tulhas" to rest for a period, allowing the coffee's flavor and aroma to become more stable.

Semi-Washed Processing

Semi-washed processing is now a somewhat outdated green bean processing method in Brazil, easily confused with pulped natural processing, but in my opinion, semi-washed processing still has its unique characteristics. Coffee processed this way has extremely full body and high sweetness. This processing method demands extremely high operational skills and experience from growers; once mistakes occur, the coffee becomes undrinkable. Similar to pulped natural processing, people first use a pulper to remove pulp, but the difference is that semi-washed processing requires removing as much skin, pulp, and mucilage from the green bean surface as possible. In Central America, people use washing machines directly after pulping, so this method is also called "mechanical washing." The processed green beans are very clean, and without fermentation, the coffee beans can begin drying. Semi-washed coffee dries quickly under constant temperature conditions, so the flavor is purer, with less mustiness compared to slower-drying coffees, and full of fruit flavors.

Washed Processing

Finally, let's discuss washed processing. Although many Brazilian coffee growers have recently shown strong interest in washed processing, domestic and international market demand for this coffee remains low. This is because washed Brazilian coffee has a poor reputation in the international market, and washing technology started late in Brazil and is not yet mature. Washed coffee processing methods are extremely similar to semi-washed coffee, but washed coffee requires fermentation to remove the mucilage on the green bean surface. Washed coffee typically has clean flavors and pleasant acidity.

Conclusion

Above are the four most common green bean processing methods in Brazil. Once processing is complete, only the parchment remains on the outer layer of green beans, and coffee undergoes final screening to meet specialty coffee standards. Parchment coffee beans are sent to unified drying processing plants, where people perform final sorting, bagging, and prepare for export. Factory workers first use vibration screening to grade coffee based on green bean density. It's important to know that density is one of the important standards for measuring coffee quality. After grading, coffee beans are cleaned again, and cleaned coffee beans are sent to laboratories for final color grading. Colorimeters use lasers to detect surface defects or stains on coffee beans. Overall, in Brazil, green bean sorting work is highly mechanized. Machine processing not only avoids unnecessary errors but also helps solve labor shortages caused by high wage levels.

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