Brazil Bolivia Pour-Over Coffee Beans Flavor Characteristics Taste Differences Brazil Coffee Cultivation History Stories

Brazil shares borders with ten countries including Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. You may have also heard of Bolivian coffee from neighboring Bolivia. So, will the flavor profiles of Brazilian and Bolivian coffee beans be similar? In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will compare the flavor characteristics of coffee beans from these two producing countries.

Latest News from Brazilian Coffee Regions in 2020!!

According to Coffee Financial Network reports, recent drought conditions in Brazil may cause significant damage to Brazilian coffee production. In many areas, this proportion has reached 50%. Although it's currently impossible to estimate the exact production of Brazilian Arabica coffee for next year, at the estates I visited, some areas may suffer 30% damage, some 50%, and some even as high as 100%. This drought in Brazil will affect coffee bean prices in 2021.

About Brazilian Coffee

Brazil is vividly described as the "giant" and "monarch" of the coffee world. There are approximately 3.97 billion coffee trees there, with small farmers now growing 75% of the country's total coffee production. The number of people engaged in coffee production in Brazil is 2 to 3 times that of Colombia, which is the world's second-largest coffee producer. Unlike the past, Brazil's economy now depends less on coffee, with Brazilian coffee accounting for only 8%-10% of the gross national product. Before World War II, Brazil's total coffee production accounted for 50% or more of the world's total; now it's close to 30%. However, the country's influence on global coffee, especially on coffee prices, remains significant. For example, the two frosts in 1994 caused a surge in global coffee prices.

Since the opening of the free market in 1990, the original "Brazilian Coffee Administration" (IBC) was replaced by the National Economic Association, a non-investment administrative agency. This association follows a non-interference policy, allowing producers and exporters to negotiate directly. Exporters' business activities are supervised by government legislation, and relevant departments register legitimate exporters. Most Brazilian coffee is unwashed and sun-dried, classified by state of origin and shipping port. Brazil has 21 states, 17 of which produce coffee, but 4 states have the largest production, accounting for 98% of the national total. They are: Paraná, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Espírito Santo. The southern Paraná state has the most impressive production, accounting for 50% of the total.

About Bolivian Coffee

Bolivia's coffee cultivation has a long history. In the past, Bolivian coffee trees were often planted around gardens as hedges for decorative purposes. Real commercial production only began in the early 1950s. The great frost of 1957 severely damaged Brazil's coffee industry, while Bolivia benefited and developed rapidly. Production at that time was basically operated in the mode of large farms. However, during the subsequent period of 1932-1983, Bolivia faced internal and external troubles with political turmoil, causing the coffee cultivation industry to stagnate or even regress. In 1991, the stabilized Bolivian government, to revitalize the national economy, encouraged indigenous people to join coffee cultivation programs, but coffee quality was not emphasized at that time. Due to poor national infrastructure, transportation difficulties limited the development of the Victoria coffee industry.

Bolivia's famous Yungas region is located in the Andean hills directly east of La Paz and is a rugged agricultural production area. The roads to Yungas are rugged and dangerous, making it difficult to transport coffee. Although this region produces abundant coffee, the facilities for processing coffee beans are very backward, causing coffee cherries from Yungas to be transported to higher-altitude areas than the Yungas production region for bean processing. Due to the treacherous terrain and winding mountain roads, transportation time is long, which also means that coffee cherries cannot be properly stored during transport, leading to rot and mold. The rot and mold of one cherry can affect most of the other cherries, so the proportion of cherries that can finally become coffee beans is very small, which also explains why Bolivian coffee beans are expensive.

Brazilian Coffee Bean Flavor

Brazil has low altitude, with coffee cultivation elevations of only 900-1100m. FrontStreet Coffee often mentions that coffee beans grown at high altitudes have better flavor and bean hardness. Meanwhile, the flat terrain lacks microclimates, and coffee trees are grown using sun-exposed cultivation without proper care, resulting in Brazilian coffee beans developing a uniquely Brazilian soft bean quality. Through cupping Brazilian coffee beans from different regions, FrontStreet Coffee believes that Brazilian coffee beans have low acidity, with prominent nut and cocoa flavors. At the same time, because they grow Bourbon coffee, the beans have obvious sweetness with a sugarcane-like sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee · Brazil Cerrado Sun-Dried Red Bourbon Coffee Beans

Region: South Minas, Brazil

Altitude: 1000m

Variety: Red Bourbon

Processing: Pulped Natural

Bolivian Coffee Bean Flavor

The Yungas region has an altitude of up to 2500m. FrontStreet Coffee believes that coffee produced in this region usually carries deep and rich sweetness, gentle citrus acidity, and alternating flavors of black fruits and berries. Compared to Bolivian coffee produced at lower altitudes, it shows a balanced taste, excellent chocolate sweetness, gentle acidity, and malt and dried fruit flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee · Bolivia Java Coffee Beans

Region: Valiqui Estate, La Paz, Bolivia

Altitude: 1600m

Variety: Java

Processing: Cocoa Natural

From the above flavor descriptions, we can better understand how important altitude is to coffee flavor expression!!! Of course, the prerequisite is that the coffee variety grown must be an Arabica coffee bean variety.

Brazilian Coffee Bean Varieties

Bourbon is a sub-species that mutated from Typica, belonging to the oldest existing coffee varieties along with Typica. When ripe, green fruits turn bright red. Bourbon grown at high altitudes usually has better aroma and brighter acidity, sometimes even showing wine-like flavors. Bourbon coffee grown at low altitudes, however, showcases its sweetness advantage, bringing sugarcane-like clarity to the coffee beans.

Bolivian Coffee Bean Varieties

The variety locally known as "long beans" in Bolivia gets its name from its elongated appearance. Its official name should be Java. Java is a very interesting coffee variety. Originally, everyone generally thought Java was a variant of Typica, but after genetic comparison, it was discovered that Java is actually an Ethiopian coffee variety called Abysinia. Java fruits and seeds are very long, the young shoots are bronze-colored, the plants are quite tall but have low yields. Due to its outstanding flavor that rivals Geisha, and stronger resistance to leaf rust and coffee berry disease, it's very suitable for small farmers to grow.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Comparison

To ensure comparability, FrontStreet Coffee uniformly used the Kono dripper for brewing. The short rib design of the Kono dripper slows down the flow during extraction, achieving an immersion extraction process that enhances the coffee's body. Because of the immersion extraction process, the brewing water temperature should not be too high. FrontStreet Coffee used 89°C water for this brewing. The powder-to-water ratio is 1:15, using medium-coarse grind (coarse sugar size).

FrontStreet Coffee's Segmented Extraction Method:

First, use 30g of water to fully wet the coffee grounds into a "hamburger" shape for a 30-second bloom (if you don't see the "hamburger" shape, we need to pay attention to whether the coffee beans are not fresh enough or the grind is too coarse). Then proceed with the second brewing stage: at 54 seconds on the timer, inject water to 125g, then wait for the water level to drop to 2/3 of the grounds before injecting the third stage (this stage extracts the sour and sweet flavor compounds from the coffee grounds). The third stage injects water to 225g at 1'40" on the timer, with a total extraction time of 2'10" (this stage extracts the mellow flavor compounds from the coffee grounds). After coffee extraction is complete, shake gently and wait for the coffee liquid to be fully uniform before tasting.

Frontsteet Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon Coffee Bean Brewing Flavor:

Upon entry, there's obvious sweetness with a faint lemon aroma, containing rich nut flavors, with obvious dark chocolate flavors in the later stages. The overall feeling is quite round.

Frontsteet Bolivia Java Coffee Bean Brewing Flavor:

At high temperature, there's a slight fermentation sensation with grape's sweet and sour taste. As it slowly cools, you can feel the nut and white flower aromas. The coffee has overall medium acidity with a juice-like texture.

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