Brazil Coffee Bean Production Volume | Brazilian Specialty Coffee Flavor Characteristics & Brewing Parameter Recommendations

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Brazil: The World's Largest Coffee Producer

The variety of coffee, geographical and climatic environment, soil texture, cultivation techniques, harvesting, and processing methods—like results nurtured from the land—all directly affect the quality of green coffee beans. Besides Colombia, another coffee giant in South America is Brazil. Brazil is the world's number one coffee producer, with last year's production reaching 2.6 million metric tons, accounting for about one-third of global production.

Brazil is the world's largest coffee-producing country. If encompassing both "commercial grade" and "specialty grade" coffee, Brazil accounts for 30% of global coffee consumption. In addition to native conditions such as climate and geographical area, Brazil's coffee "industrialization" has created today's enormous national income and efficiency.

Flavor Profile and Regional Varieties

Brazilian coffee is also a frequent component in coffee blends, serving as the backbone structure in a cup of coffee. Most Brazilian coffees have a gentle and mellow flavor, reminiscent of roasted hazelnuts and cream, with low acidity, a subtle yet deep aftertaste, and a smooth texture. Japanese people particularly love dark-roasted Brazilian coffee, so Japanese instant or canned coffees all feature that typical "Brazilian flavor."

Common Brazilian producing regions include Cerrado and Sul de Minas. In earlier years, Santos-produced coffee was more commonly seen. Due to its ordinary flavor, it has become less visible in recent specialty coffee trends and is mostly used for blended beans.

Cultivation and Harvesting Techniques

Brazil primarily cultivates Arabica Bourbon and Catuai varieties. These bean varieties have relatively high yields compared to many other varieties.

As the world's largest coffee-producing country, Brazil's coffee harvesting and processing techniques lead the globe, naturally inseparable from the mechanization level and intensive production of Brazilian coffee cultivation. Brazilian coffee harvesting differs from other countries' methods, following the principle of harvesting first, then sorting; most coffee uses mechanical harvesting; a small portion uses the stripping method.

Processing Methods and Climate Influence

In terms of green bean processing technology, the most common coffee processing methods are: natural, pulped natural, washed, and semi-washed. Most Brazilian coffees use the natural sun-drying method or semi-washed processing method, with the most commonly used being the natural sun-drying method ( "natural sun-drying" refers to letting coffee fully absorb sunlight on the branches, only harvesting after complete maturation).

Brazil's terrain is flat and monotonous, lacking microclimates. Most regions are tropical, with the north having a tropical rainforest climate, the central region a tropical savanna climate, and some southern areas a subtropical monsoon humid climate. Average temperatures range from 25-28°C, with southern regions having an annual average temperature of 16-19°C. Low rainfall and long sunshine hours make this climatic characteristic more conducive to the widespread adoption of natural processing methods, represented by Brazil's two main producing regions: Paraná and São Paulo.

Quality Challenges and Market Dynamics

Although Brazil has begun to improve quality, specialty-grade Brazilian coffee remains relatively uncommon in the market. General commercial-grade Brazilian coffee has a flat flavor, with some even having unappealing earthy or woody tastes. However, when encountering high-quality specialty Brazilian coffee, that transparent, sweet, and smooth taste is like aged Pu-erh tea, suitable for quiet sipping while passing through early mornings or weekend afternoons.

However, in recent years, Brazil, a major coffee bean-producing country, has been affected by weather droughts and exchange rate fluctuations, causing coffee bean market prices to become restless. It is estimated that coffee bean futures will rise by 20% by the end of this year, and total production will also decrease by 5.5 million bags. International prices are rising, but domestic operators just raised prices earlier this year, so they have determined to absorb the costs themselves and will not affect consumers.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's Brazilian coffee brewing recommendations:

V60/88°C/1:14 ratio/Time: 1 minute 50 seconds

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