Flavor Profile of Brazilian Coffee: How to Make Delicious Pour-Over Coffee? Are Brazilian Beans Light or Dark Roasted?

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As the world's largest producer of Arabica coffee beans, Brazil's Arabica coffee harvest significantly impacts global Arabica coffee futures prices. According to data, during Brazil's peak coffee harvest, the country can account for over 30% of global Arabica coffee production.

However, in recent years, Brazil's coffee production has been less than optimistic. Adverse weather caused by the greenhouse effect has greatly reduced Brazil's Arabica coffee production. A weaker US dollar has reduced farmers' profits. Surging oil prices have led many Brazilian coffee growers to switch to corn for renewable energy production. Combined with the impact of the global pandemic, Brazil's domestic coffee consumption continues to rise, pushing Brazilian coffee beans into a state of "supply unable to meet demand."

The price of Arabica coffee futures depends on the inventory of Arabica coffee beans at the New York Intercontinental Exchange. As Brazil is the largest inventory supplier country, Brazil's supply volume has always been the determining factor in coffee futures prices.

Brazilian Coffee Flavor

Generally, the higher the altitude where coffee beans grow, the greater the temperature difference between day and night. Coffee grows more slowly, giving it more time to develop better "physical fitness," enhancing the density of the beans themselves while forming richer coffee flavors.

Compared to other coffee-producing countries in Central and South America, Brazil's coffee planting altitude is significantly lower, with flat terrain, lack of microclimates, and coffee trees grown without shade.

Therefore, Brazilian coffee beans have a softer texture, and their flavor is not as good as coffee from other regions. Typically, Brazilian coffee beans have low acidity, and high-quality Brazilian beans exhibit nutty and chocolate sweet aromas, balanced acidity and bitterness, and excellent body. Lower quality Brazilian beans may have some woody and earthy flavors.

Brazilian Coffee Cultivation Overview

Brazilian coffee was introduced to Brazil from French Guiana in the 1720s. Coffee adapted very well to the local climate and quickly spread from the north to São Paulo state in the southeast and Paraná province in the south. Unfortunately, when coffee reached Paraná province, due to the region's higher latitude, winter frosts occurred, causing serious losses for coffee farmers.

It wasn't until the 1970s-1980s that Brazilian farmers developed the warmer Minas province and Bahia in northern São Paulo state. Here, winters are warm without frost. To this day, Minas province has become one of Brazil's main specialty coffee-producing regions.

The main coffee-producing regions in Brazil are: Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Bahia, and Espírito Santo. These four places account for 90% of the country's total exports. Mogiana, which we commonly see, comes from São Paulo. Cerrado and South Minas in Minas Gerais, because these three regions in Minas province have higher altitudes, mostly produce specialty Brazilian coffee beans.

Brazilian Coffee Varieties Introduction

Brazil currently primarily cultivates Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, Mundo Novo, and Catuai varieties. Among them, Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon are the main varieties. They are both subspecies that mutated from Typica.

Generally, after Red Bourbon coffee trees flower and bear fruit, the color change of coffee cherries goes from: green > light yellow > light orange > mature red > darker red when fully ripe. Therefore, some people call it Red Bourbon variety. In fact, Red Bourbon is what we generally call the Bourbon variety.

Bourbon coffee grown at high altitudes typically has better aroma, brighter acidity, and may even have red wine-like flavors. Simply put, Bourbon is a coffee variety belonging to the Arabica species. It generally produces red fruits, called Red Bourbon. In addition, there are Yellow Bourbon and Orange Bourbon. Yellow Bourbon has relatively lower yields but better quality.

Are Brazilian Coffee Beans Good to Drink?

FrontStreet Coffee currently sells two coffee beans from Brazilian regions. One is from the Mogiana region in South Minas, at an altitude of 1400-1950m, from Queen's Farm. In this area, there are many farming families, some of whom use traditional large-scale farming operations, while others adopt small-scale modern operations. Modern technology combined with mountain coffee cultivation culture has produced the highest quality green coffee beans.

Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee found that coffee beans produced in this region have a sugarcane-like sweetness. After medium-dark roasting by FrontStreet Coffee, Brazilian Queen's Farm coffee exhibits mixed roasted nut aromas, peanut butter-like fullness and smoothness, and brown sugar-like sweetness.

The other is coffee beans from the Cerrado region at an altitude of 1000 meters. The Cerrado region starts in Mato Grosso province in southwestern Brazil, passes through central-western Minas, and reaches the western part of Bahia province. The Cerrado coffee region referred to by FrontStreet Coffee is not the entire Cerrado savanna, but only the coffee cultivation areas above 1000 meters altitude in central-western Minas province that can be called the Cerrado coffee region.

This area is the essence of the Cerrado savanna, with high altitude and fertile soil, which is necessary to grow sweet specialty coffee beans with high body and cleanliness. After medium-dark roasting by FrontStreet Coffee, Brazilian Cerrado region coffee exhibits nuts, peanuts, creamy smoothness, cocoa, and caramel flavors.

How to Brew Brazilian Coffee Beans?

FrontStreet Coffee stores typically use Kono drippers for brewing. The difference between this dripper and V60 is that Kono dripper's ribs only extend to 1/3 of the dripper, with 2/3 being smooth. When the filter paper completely fits the dripper, air cannot penetrate through the dripper, slowing the water flow during brewing, thus achieving a soaking effect, and the coffee will also be more full-bodied.

Since the dripper itself has the effect of increasing extraction rate, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using medium-coarse grind (70% passing through Chinese #20 standard sieve), water temperature of 88-89 degrees Celsius, and brewing with a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio.

FrontStreet Coffee uses three-stage extraction: Press the timer, use 30g of water for 30 seconds of blooming, then pour water in a small circular motion to 125g. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. (Starting from the beginning of blooming) The extraction time is 2 minutes.

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