How to Retain Coffee Oils When Pour-Over Brewing Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon Coffee_How to Enjoy Brazil Pour-Over Coffee

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Fazenda Rainha: Queen's Coffee Estate

This Brazilian coffee comes from Fazenda Rainha (Queen's Estate), a 280-acre farm in the ancient volcanic valley of Vale da Grama in Brazil. In 2011 the estate won the Brazil Cup of Excellence (COE) competition. It is planted with 200 acres of Yellow Bourbon coffee trees. The rolling terrain rules out large-scale mechanical harvesting, so all the coffee here must be hand-picked. The estate uses the washed processing method, depulping by machine and then drying on drying racks and in mechanical dryers. After mechanical screening, a further manual screening is required, which means farm employees must live on the farm year-round. All employees and their families enjoy housing, healthcare and education benefits here.

The estate is a member of a medium-sized farm organization in the local Grama Valley, primarily exporting specialty coffee of the Bourbon variety. The organization's office is in nearby Poços de Caldas, and it also runs a national cupping laboratory equipped with large warehouses. The organization collaborates with local universities and other institutions on research, including Lavras University, where the renowned Dr. Flavio Borem comes from the Agricultural Research Center.

Brazil Coffee Estate Details

Origin: Vale da Grama, Mogiana, Brazil

Altitude: 960 meters above sea level

Processing Method: Machine depulped, then dried on drying racks and mechanically dried

Variety: Yellow Bourbon

Harvest Period: April - September 2016

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Parameters

How to Brew Brazilian Coffee "Queen's Estate Yellow Bourbon"

FrontStreet Coffee's Pour-Over Reference: Weigh 15g of "Queen's Estate Yellow Bourbon" grounds and grind them medium. The particles should be slightly coarser than table salt; we use BG grinder setting 6A (50% standard sieve pass rate). Water temperature is 88°C, with a Kono or Kalita dripper. We recommend a coffee-to-water ratio of approximately 1:14.

Using the hot water from the pour-over kettle, pour in clockwise circles centered on the middle of the dripper. Start timing when brewing begins. Within 15 seconds, brew to 30g, then stop pouring. When the time reaches 1 minute, begin the second pour. As before, pour in clockwise circles centered on the middle of the dripper, keeping the stream away from where the grounds meet the filter paper to avoid channeling.

Leave a circle of space when pouring to the outermost edge of the grounds, then continue circling back toward the center. At 2 minutes 10 seconds, brew to 210g to complete the process.

Japanese-Style Iced Pour-Over "Queen's Estate Yellow Bourbon"

FrontStreet Coffee's Iced Pour-Over Reference:

Brazilian coffee "Queen's Estate Yellow Bourbon," medium-dark roast, BG grinder setting 5R (60% standard sieve pass rate).

20g of coffee grounds, 150g of ice cubes, 150g of hot water. The water temperature should be 1°C higher than the normal pour-over recommendation of 88°C. Normal grinding uses a Fuji 3.5 setting, but for iced pour-over use a slightly finer setting, Fuji 3.0. We recommend a coffee-to-(water plus ice) ratio of 1:15.

Bloom with 40g of water for 30 seconds.

Segmented pouring: first segment 60g of water, second segment 40g of water. Use a relatively fine but tall water column, applying force to stir and agitate so the grounds tumble fully. Be careful not to let the liquid level rise too high, and avoid hitting the filter paper at the edges.

The whole extraction should take approximately 2.5 minutes, similar to the normal extraction time for 20g of coffee grounds.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Brazilian coffee has a moderate acidity and an unusually good balance of sweetness, bitterness and body, which is why it takes so well to a medium roast: the cup opens up with a nutty aroma, a smooth, full taste and a soft acidity. That balance also makes it endlessly useful, equally at home as a single origin or as part of a blend.

FrontStreet Coffee's Cerrado Red Bourbon is the classic single-origin expression of that character. Cerrado is a famous local region prized for high-quality beans, and this lot is the common red Bourbon variety of South America. Medium roasted, it layers creamy peanut, toast, caramel and hazelnut aromas over a rounded body, with no acidity and a light bitter note. Beyond pour-over, it also performs well in a moka pot, as an espresso SOE, in a siphon and in a French press.

For something rarer, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen Estate comes from Mogiana, near South Minas, where fertile red volcanic soil lets the cherries absorb generous nutrients and build a full aroma. Its variety is the uncommon Yellow Bourbon, a natural mutation of Red Bourbon with a cleaner fruit expression. Brewed by pour-over, moka pot or home espresso machine, it reveals a sugarcane sweetness that other regions rarely deliver, alongside fruit and chocolate notes. Brazil's gentle acidity and balanced cup also make it a favorite in espresso recipes, from the rich, oily FrontStreet Coffee Classic Blend and the nutty Premium Blend to the balanced FrontStreet Coffee Dark Cocoa Blend recommended by many baristas and FrontStreet Coffee's Commercial Blend built for coffee shops. Brazil brings not only chocolate and cream aromas but a soft sweet-sour-bitter balance that helps extraction stay stable.