Brazilian Coffee Beans | Characteristics & Flavor Profile | Brewing Guide

Brazilian Coffee Overview

Besides Colombia, Brazil stands as another coffee powerhouse in South America. As the world's leading coffee producer, Brazil harvested 2.6 million metric tons last year, accounting for approximately one-third of global production.

However, coffee experts generally rate Brazilian coffee beans poorly, considering them too monotonous with insufficient bitterness, acidity, and aroma. They often exclude Brazil from specialty coffee producing regions. This is because most Brazilian coffee plantations are situated below 1,200 meters altitude, lack shade from large trees, and employ rough harvesting methods where unripe and ripe cherries are collected together—failing to meet specialty coffee standards. The sun-exposed planting method accelerates coffee cherry growth, resulting in incomplete flavor development and a woody taste that prevents it from reaching premium quality.

Furthermore, over the past two decades, Brazil has attempted to expand market share by replacing manual bean picking with mechanization to increase production, which has compromised quality and destroyed the intended flavor profiles. Only by harvesting fully ripe red cherries combined with careful processing methods can the flavors of specialty coffee be fully expressed. Recognizing this crisis, the Brazilian Coffee Association has vigorously promoted reforms in recent years to survive in the fiercely competitive international market. Notably, the green beans from Fazenda Rainha, a Brazilian specialty coffee estate, were recently acquired at high prices by the renowned Norwegian roaster and green bean importer Soberg & Hansen. This has sparked widespread discussion in the global coffee community, as Brazilian coffee beans have never commanded such high prices before, helping to shake off Brazil's reputation for being unable to produce quality coffee!

Brazilian Coffee Culture

Brazilians begin drinking coffee as a morning beverage as early as age 3, which explains their profound love for coffee! Adding orange juice, condensed milk, and ice to coffee, then shaking it thoroughly in a cocktail shaker, creates an enticing orange juice coffee. However, authentic Brazilian coffee cocktails don't use orange but alcohol—specifically Brazil's national spirit, Cachaca (a famous sugarcane-derived liquor that represents traditional Brazilian culture, beloved by Brazilians just like samba and football). This creates another folk flavor, also made by shaking coffee with condensed milk and ice!

Brazilian Coffee Varieties

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

Brazilian coffee is also a common component in coffee blends, often serving as the backbone structure in a cup of coffee. Most Brazilian coffee features gentle, mellow flavors reminiscent of roasted hazelnuts and cream, with low acidity and a subtle yet long-lasting aftertaste, characterized by a smooth texture. Japanese consumers particularly enjoy dark-roasted Brazilian coffee, so Japanese instant and canned coffees typically feature this distinctive "Brazilian flavor."

Brazilian Coffee Regions

Common Brazilian coffee producing regions include Cerrado and Sul de Minas. In earlier years, Santos was more commonly seen, but due to its ordinary flavor profile, it has become less visible in recent specialty coffee trends and is now mostly used in blend components.

Brazilian Coffee Flavor Profile

Brazilian coffee is wild, sweet, and low in acidity, with sweetness tinged by bitterness and chocolate roasted notes. However, its green beans are not dense, and the growing altitude is not as high as typical Central American coffee beans, which means that extremely dark roasting can bring out some bitter flavors. Additionally, three different processing methods give Brazilian coffee diverse flavor characteristics: natural processing creates rich, full-bodied texture with chocolate notes and some fruit aromas, though it may also have some earthy, rural notes; honey processing occurs when the outer skin is removed while the beans remain coated with the mucilage and parchment, then dried on patios or raised beds—this processing yields flavors similar to fully natural processing but with a cleaner mouthfeel; semi-washed processing uses depulpers to remove the skin and some or all of the pulp, so semi-washed coffee has characteristics of both honey processing (clean, balanced) and washed processing (thinner mouthfeel, less chocolate flavor, brighter acidity).

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations for Brazilian Coffee

V60/1:15/88°C/Time: 1 minute 50 seconds

Flavor notes: Chocolate, creamy peanuts, brown rice tea

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small storefront but diverse bean varieties, offering both famous and lesser-known beans, along with online services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

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