The Coffee Kingdom—An Introduction to Brazil's Cerrado Coffee Growing Region, Flavor and Aroma Characteristics, and Brewing Parameter Recommendations

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For those new to coffee, some may not appreciate the delightful acidity of coffee while also finding bitterness unacceptable. In such cases, the baristas at FrontStreet Coffee often recommend Brazilian coffee beans from our daily brew series. Brazilian Cerrado coffee beans are characterized by low acidity, excellent body, smooth and sweet entry, with nutty notes.

Brazil's Global Coffee Influence

It's important to know that Brazil ranks first in global coffee production. The climate, transportation conditions, and coffee yield in Brazil's growing regions have profound impacts on world coffee market prices. For instance, during the 2020/2021 season, Brazil experienced a once-in-a-century drought, causing coffee production to drop from over 70 million bags (60kg/bag) in the previous season to just over 50 million bags, and coffee market prices nearly tripled.

Brazil's Coffee Cultivation History

While Brazil's current position in coffee seems formidable, looking back 300 years, Brazil didn't have a single coffee tree. Brazil's稳固 position as the global coffee production leader is credited to a Portuguese officer named Francisco de Melo Palheta. James Hoffmann mentions in his book "World Coffee Atlas" that this Portuguese officer, while on a diplomatic mission to French Guiana, met and charmed the local governor's wife. Upon his departure, the governor's wife gave Francisco a bouquet that contained hidden coffee seeds. After returning to Brazil, Francisco planted these coffee seeds, and the coffee trees quickly adapted to Brazil's environment and spread southward.

By 1830, Brazil's coffee production accounted for 30% of global production; by 1840, it increased to 40%. Around 1920, Brazil's coffee production dominated 80% of the world's coffee output. Around the 1930s, coffee exports accounted for half of Brazil's export income. With the Great Depression, Brazil's coffee prices depreciated by nearly 90%. As export markets collapsed, warehouses filled with increasing coffee inventories, and prices naturally plummeted. Subsequently, the Brazilian authorities decided to burn billions of pounds of coffee.

Brazilian Coffee Bean Grades

When discussing coffee bean grades, many might be familiar with G1 and G2 grades from Ethiopian origins. Observant visitors to FrontStreet Coffee stores will notice various burlap bags for green coffee beans, and the information marked on these bags serves as the coffee beans' identity card.

Among these, Brazilian green coffee bean bags often display 'Brazil NY.2 SC – 17/18 FC'. Most people's first reaction is to recognize 17/18 screen size, but the rest remains unclear. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will provide a detailed interpretation of this information.

'Brazil NY.2 SC – 17/18 FC' - the first word obviously means Brazil. The remaining content needs to be broken down into three parts for interpretation: defect rate, green bean size, and cupping quality.

Defect Rate

The defect rate is divided into 8 levels, determined by the number of defective beans per 300 grams of green beans.

Bean Size

Green beans are screened using mesh sizes based on 1/64 inch increments, typically ranging from 14 to 20 mesh.

Cupping Quality

Divided into Fine Cup, Fine, Good Cup, Fair Cup, Poor Cup, and Bad Cup. Among these, Fine Cup (FC) and Good Cup (GC) are more common.

Brazilian Coffee Regions

FrontStreet Coffee has mentioned in multiple articles about Brazilian coffee regions that Brazil's coffee growing areas are mainly divided into six major regions: Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, Espírito Santo, and Paraná.

Bahia

Coffee cultivation in this region began in the 1970s. Thanks to high-quality coffee varieties and high-tech agricultural techniques, coffee from this region has gained increasing attention. Most of Bahia's coffee growing areas are at higher elevations with rainy winters and dry summers.

Minas Gerais

Minas Gerais is by far Brazil's most important coffee producing region, with nearly half of the nation's coffee production occurring here. The region's fertile soil and higher elevation make it the perfect place for growing Brazil's most famous specialty coffees. The Cerrado sub-region within this main region was Brazil's first area to receive designation of origin status. Cerrado means "tropical savanna" in the local language. The Cerrado region has an average elevation of 800 to 1300 meters, with humid summers and dry winters.

São Paulo

São Paulo is not only a coffee growing region but also the location of the Port of Santos, Brazil's coffee export port. The Mogiana sub-region within this state features fertile red soil, perfect elevation (900 to 1100 meters), complex terrain, and suitable temperatures.

Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul

This main region produces little coffee, as the vast flat highlands are more suitable for cattle ranching.

Espírito Santo

This region is Brazil's second-largest coffee producing region, however, nearly 80% of the coffee trees here are of the Robusta variety. The elevation here ranges from 700 to 1000 meters, producing coffee with rich fruit flavors and high acidity.

Paraná

The Paraná region is known as the world's southernmost coffee growing region. Paraná covers only 2.5% of Brazil's total area but produces nearly 25% of Brazil's agricultural crops. This region lacks high elevations but has a cooler climate that favors slow maturation of coffee cherries.

Colombian vs Brazilian Coffee

Colombia and Brazil are the top two Arabica coffee bean producing countries, and they share neighboring borders. So what are the differences between Colombian and Brazilian coffee beans? Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee has found that coffees from these two countries each have their own characteristics.

Colombia features complex topography, high elevation, and low latitude, relying on its excellent mountains and waters to produce high-quality coffee beans. Colombian coffee is characterized by rich chocolate flavors with jam-like sweet aromas, with each sip reminiscent of fruit-flavored chocolate. FrontStreet Coffee's Colombian Flower Moon Night is an excellent example.

Most Brazilian coffee cultivation uses sun-grown methods, allowing coffee cherries to quickly absorb sufficient heat for maturation. Brazilian coffee beans have soft bean quality, thus developing soft bean flavors. In Han Huaizong's "Specialty Coffee Studies" book, soft bean flavors are described as: low acidity, heavy nutty flavors, chocolate sweetness with good body, but slightly woody and earthy, with不明显的花香和橘香. In other words, Brazilian coffee characteristics are low acidity, mild and smooth, with good body and sweetness.

If you want to try the differences in flavor between Brazilian and Colombian coffee beans, you can try FrontStreet Coffee's daily brew series, which features carefully selected representative beans from famous origins with regional flavor characteristics. This includes both Brazil and Colombia.

For the Brazilian daily brew bean, FrontStreet Coffee chose Cerrado region, and for the Colombian daily brew bean, FrontStreet Coffee chose Huila region.

FrontStreet Coffee Brazilian Cerrado Coffee Bean Information

Region: Brazil, Cerrado
Elevation: 1000 meters
Variety: Red Bourbon
Processing: Pulped Natural
Flavor: Nuts, chocolate, cream, peanut, caramel

FrontStreet Coffee Colombian Huila Coffee Bean Information

Region: Colombia, Huila
Elevation: 1500-1800m
Variety: Caturra
Processing: Washed
Flavor: Nuts, dark chocolate, caramel, soft fruit acidity

The brewing method is also quite simple. FrontStreet Coffee recommends pour-over method with the following specific parameters:

Coffee Dose: 15g
Ratio: 1:15
Water Temperature: 88°C
Grind Size: 75% pass-through through #20 sieve
Dripper: Kono dripper
Pouring Method: Three-stage pour

First stage: pour 30ml and bloom for 30 seconds. Second stage: pour 100ml in a circular motion from center outward. Wait for the water level to drop slightly before starting the third stage. Third stage: pour 95ml. Wait for the coffee to finish dripping to complete extraction, taking 2 minutes total.

Important Notice :

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