Brazilian Coffee Growing Regions: Semi-Washed Processing and Brewing Flavor Descriptions

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Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer, supplying nearly 45% of the world's raw coffee beans. The length of the country's dry season can even affect global coffee prices. Brazil's main coffee-producing regions include Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Bahia, and Espírito Santo. These four locations account for 90% of the country's total exports. The commonly known Santos and Mogiana varieties come from São Paulo. Cerrado and Sul de Minas in Minas Gerais produce more specialty Brazilian coffee beans due to their higher altitudes. Cerrado is located in the western part of Minas Gerais, a flat plateau with elevations ranging from 750m to 1200m. Sul de Minas, with elevations between 700m-1200m, is a hilly forested area and Brazil's earliest coffee production region. Due to rising labor costs, mechanical harvesting is now predominant, and it remains the earliest commercialized coffee region, where we can see many large exporters established. The Bahia region in northern Brazil mainly produces washed Brazilian coffee, while the coastal Espírito Santo region is the main export area for Brazil's Robusta varieties. In Brazil, washed, honey-processed, and natural processing methods all exist, but the most common is the natural processing method.

Brazilian Coffee Processing Methods

80% of Brazilian coffee beans are natural processed, with the remaining 20% being semi-washed and washed. Each processing method yields different flavor characteristics, but high-quality coffees tend to favor semi-washed processing. However, natural processing still maintains deeply rooted popularity. Let's explore the differences between natural and semi-washed processing methods.

Natural Processing Method

The natural processing method involves taking harvested coffee cherries through rough selection before directly entering the drying process, then hulling to extract the raw beans. This is Brazil's traditional processing method, very familiar to Japanese consumers, and can be considered the origin of Brazilian coffee.

Semi-washed Processing Method

This method has gained significant attention in recent years. It involves taking harvested coffee cherries through rough selection, then using a pulper to remove the fruit pulp before entering the drying process, and finally hulling to extract the raw beans.

The pulping process can remove unripe coffee cherries. Therefore, semi-washed processing can improve precision compared to natural processing and reduce variations caused by coffee plant differences.

Drying Conditions of Semi-washed Coffee

In pursuit of delicious Brazilian coffee, Brazil's coffee export specifications are divided into different grades. These export specifications are determined by the number of defective beans mixed in and bean size, so fewer defective beans and larger beans result in higher specifications. However, Brazil's coffee production areas are vast, and each region's coffee characteristics are very distinct. Although the processing methods mentioned above can alter flavor profiles, they are completely unrelated to Brazil's coffee export specifications.

Brazilian coffee farms range from large mechanized plantations on flat terrain to small farms in mountainous areas that rely on manual harvesting. Brazilian coffee farms typically have no shade trees. Coffee trees grow and bear fruit under full sun exposure, which actually presents some challenges in producing delicious coffee. Coffee fruits exposed to sunlight for extended periods ripen quickly. However, sweet and highly ripe coffee requires temperature variations between cold and heat, which is closely related to limited sunlight exposure time.

Coffee cultivated in large flat coffee plantations at elevations of 850-1200m tends to have relatively smooth flavors and is mostly neutral coffee.

In contrast, Brazil also produces coffee in mountainous areas at slightly higher altitudes than flat terrain, where sunlight exposure time is limited due to the mountain slopes. As a result, coffee fruits can ripen for longer periods on the tree, allowing for the harvest of highly ripe coffee with both sweetness and acidity. (For example, tomatoes that ripen on the vine are sweeter, more flavorful, and delicious!)

Both specialty and commercial coffees representing Brazilian coffee are produced in this style. The resulting coffee has a smooth flavor suitable for blending and other easy-to-brew coffee preparations.

Coffee from Cerrado, Minas Gerais

This area is currently Brazil's most notable region, often imagined as similar to the mountainous farms of Guatemala in Central America. Many farms here focus on quality, using manual harvesting instead of machinery. Coffee produced here has strong acidity and sweetness with texture unlike typical Brazilian coffee, exhibiting good balance. Many farms here frequently receive Cup of Excellence awards, producing high-quality coffee that makes farms from other regions hesitant to participate in the Cup of Excellence competition.

FrontStreet Coffee's [Brazilian Coffee] Brewing Recommendations:

V60/1:15/88℃/Time: 1 minute 50 seconds

Flavor notes: Chocolate, creamy peanuts, brown rice tea

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