Introduction to Famous Brazilian Coffee Brands Santos and Cerrado: Are Brazilian Beans Soft in Pour-Over Taste?

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When mentioning Brazil, people often have varied impressions of this fascinating country: the passionate Brazilian culture expressed through beautifully dressed women dancing gracefully on the streets of Rio de Janeiro, while on the other hand, there's the lush Amazon rainforest, far from the hustle and bustle of cities. This dynamic contrast between movement and tranquility fills Brazil with charm.

Brazilian coffee reflects this duality as well—the rich nutty chocolate notes are like Brazil's passionate side, while the smooth mouthfeel represents its gentle, calm nature.

Although Brazil ranks fifth in the world and first in South America by land area, it is the world's largest producer of coffee beans. Brazil has 21 states, 17 of which produce coffee beans, with the main coffee-producing regions distributed across six states: Bahia, Espirito Santo, Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, Parana, and Rondonia.

Minas Gerais

Minas Gerais produces over half of Brazil's Arabica coffee beans and is also the main specialty coffee-producing region in Brazil. Minas Gerais contains four sub-regions.

Matas de Minas: This region gained fame for growing high-quality specialty coffee. With high air humidity and warm climate, coffees from this region exhibit caramel and chocolate flavors.

Minas Highlands: This highland region, with its relatively flat terrain, commonly uses mechanized production methods. The coffee from this region has distinct chocolate flavors.

Cerrado: Cerrado was the first coffee region in Brazil to obtain Brazilian origin certification. The name "Cerrado" carries great prestige, similar to the status of the Bordeaux region in wine. The Cerrado region is dotted with medium to large-scale coffee plantations. Due to its distinct seasons and suitable altitude, it provides ideal conditions for the growth and harvesting of Brazilian coffee beans.

South Minas: The South Minas region has higher altitudes and moderate temperatures. The Arabica coffee beans from this region have typical fruity aromas and rich flavors. Coffee production here accounts for about 30% of Brazil's total output.

São Paulo

São Paulo is one of Brazil's most important regions, home to Latin America's largest port—Santos Port. Santos Port is Brazil's largest export port for coffee. At the same time, São Paulo is also Brazil's oldest coffee-growing region.

São Paulo has two coffee-producing regions: Centro-Oeste and Mogiana.

The Mogiana region is blessed with rich red volcanic soil, high altitude, and mild climate, allowing it to produce high-quality coffee. Among the famous coffee estates in this region is Fazenda Rainha. FrontStreet Coffee's menu features a coffee bean from Fazenda Rainha, which has won numerous awards since the first Brazil Cup of Excellence (COE) competition in 1999, winning 12 times in 7 years. Coffee from Mogiana has low acidity, full body, with fruit and chocolate flavors.

The Centro-Oeste region features hilly terrain, dominated by small to medium-sized coffee plantations. Coffee from this region has a relatively mild flavor.

Espírito Santo

Compared to other Brazilian coffee-producing regions, Espírito Santo has a smaller planting area, but its coffee production ranks second in Brazil. Espírito Santo is Brazil's largest producer of Robusta coffee beans. In the southern part of the state, a small number of coffee growers cultivate Arabica coffee beans.

Espírito Santo has a mild climate and highland terrain, with coffees from the state exhibiting distinct acidity and fruity flavors.

Bahia

Bahia only began coffee cultivation in the 1970s, making its coffee-growing history relatively short compared to states like Parana. Despite this brief history, thanks to advanced agricultural technology, Bahia produces high-quality specialty coffee beans with excellent flavors, achieving good rankings in recent Brazil Cup of Excellence (COE) competitions, including winning the natural process category in 2015. Public attention to this state is steadily increasing. The state's coffee-growing areas have high altitudes, with rainy winters and dry summers.

Paraná

Paraná is Brazil's most traditional coffee region, but in 1975, the state suffered severe frost damage, causing significant harm to coffee plants and a sharp decline in production. Due to the 1975 frost disaster, Arabica coffee futures prices rose to their highest point in history in 1977. Today, Paraná remains one of Brazil's most important agricultural areas, with crop production accounting for about 25% of Brazil's total. Due to Paraná's lack of high altitudes preferred by Arabica coffee beans—maximum altitude only reaching 950 meters—there are few truly high-quality coffees produced here.

Rondônia

This state in northeastern Brazil primarily cultivates Robusta coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee's menu features two Brazilian coffee beans: the Brazil Red Bourbon from the daily bean series and the Fazenda Rainha Yellow Bourbon from the Mogiana region of São Paulo state.

FrontStreet Coffee: Brazil Red Bourbon Coffee Beans

Region: Cerrado, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Altitude: 1000 meters
Variety: Red Bourbon
Processing Method: Pulped Natural

The fact that FrontStreet Coffee classifies Brazil Red Bourbon as part of the daily bean series is enough to demonstrate this coffee bean's status. Produced in the Cerrado region, this Red Bourbon variety uses Brazil's most traditional pulped natural processing method. This Brazil Red Bourbon perfectly represents the characteristic nutty flavor profile and smooth mouthfeel of Brazilian coffee beans.

Actually, before the 18th century, Brazil primarily cultivated the Typica variety. However, as coffee became one of Brazil's main economic crops capable of generating immense wealth, and Typica had lower yields, the higher-yielding Bourbon variety was introduced from Réunion Island in the 1860s. Around the 1870s, historical records documented that some Bourbon plants bore yellow fruits, which were later scientifically verified as a mutant of Red Bourbon—Yellow Bourbon.

Compared to Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon has a richer mucilage layer, meaning more sugar content and better sweetness. Through cupping comparisons between Red and Yellow Bourbon, FrontStreet Coffee discovered that Yellow Bourbon exhibits subtle lemon aromatics and more pronounced sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee: Brazil Fazenda Rainha Coffee Beans

Region: Mogiana, Brazil
Estate: Fazenda Rainha
Altitude: 1400-1950 meters
Variety: Yellow Bourbon
Processing Method: Natural

Since natural processing requires significant manual labor, large-scale production might lead to over-fermentation due to insufficient turning, resulting in undesirable fermented flavors. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Fazenda Rainha uses small-batch, refined natural processing, with the entire process conducted on African raised beds to avoid earthy and fermented flavors. Its sweetness is also a step above traditional pulped natural processing.

Seeing is believing, and the same applies to coffee—words are less valuable than personal experience. To highlight the aroma and sweetness of Brazilian coffee during roasting, a medium-dark roast was used. FrontStreet Coffee recommends using water at 88°C, coarse grinding, and a KONO filter when brewing these two beans. To experience richer layering, a three-stage water pouring method is recommended for extraction.

Filter: KONO filter
Water Temperature: 88°C
Coffee Dose: 15g
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: 70% through #20 sieve

For the first stage, pour 30ml of water and let it bloom for 30 seconds. For the second stage, pour 100ml of water in a circular motion. When the water level drops to halfway, at approximately 1 minute and 5 seconds, begin the third stage by pouring 95ml of water. Wait until all the coffee has dripped through before removing the filter cup. Total extraction time is 2 minutes.

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