Is Fazenda Samambaia's Sun-Dried Yellow Bourbon from South Minas Gerais, Brazil Good to Drink? Minas Gerais Flavor Profile

Brazil South Minas | Flavor Profile of Fazenda Samambaia Natural Yellow Bourbon

Brazil is currently the world's largest coffee producer, with a total output of 48.95 billion bags, accounting for over one third of global production. The Brazil Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA) is dedicated to improving the quality of Brazilian coffee. Internationally, it helps promote Brazil's fine coffee and assists Brazilian farmers in meeting the quality requirements of the specialty coffee market. Domestically, it helps farmers continuously improve agricultural practices and ensure better social welfare.

Coffee was first introduced to Brazil in the early 18th century. Today 2 million hectares of land are used for coffee cultivation, with main producing regions including Sul de Minas, Matas de Minas, Cerrado, Chapadas de Minas, Mogiana, Paraná and Bahia. Both traditional and improved varieties are grown, such as Bourbon, Mondo Novo, Icatú, Catuaí and Iapar. These beans were previously water-processed, but increasingly more coffees use natural drying and semi-washed methods, all aimed at presenting the diverse characteristics of different beans. Larger estates use each processing method, and harvest times vary throughout Brazil. Coffee beans imported directly from Brazil are typically shipped between October and April of the following year.

To maintain the quality of coffee production, Samambaia Estate owner Henrique Dias Cambraia has combined many favorable conditions:

Committed to maintaining an excellent growing environment: thanks to its geographical advantages, the average annual temperature here stays at 21°C. In addition, located on the watershed between the Great River and the River San Francisco, the climate remains cool and humid year-round thanks to the surrounding clouds and mist.

Continuous improvement of coffee-tree cultivation techniques: the Dias Cambraia family received technical guidance for over ten years from Dr. Josué Pereira de Figueiredo, technical coordinator of the Brazilian Coffee Institute (IBC). During this period, Samambaia Estate's cultivation techniques steadily improved. Henrique Dias Cambraia himself continually participates in coffee-production organizations to keep acquiring new techniques and methods.

The estate members view farm management as a concrete practice of social responsibility and environmental protection. From top to bottom they all endorse the concept of sustainable operation and can execute it effectively through teamwork.

Property Characteristics: Farm Features

Farm Name: Fazenda Samambaia

Farmer: Henrique Dias Cambraia

City: Vertentes

Region: Sul de Minas Gerais (South Minas)

Country: Brazil

Altitude: 1,150 meters

Annual Precipitation: 2,100 mm

Coffee Characteristics: Coffee Features

Variety: Yellow Bourbon

Processing System: Natural (Sun-dried)

Appearance: 16-17 screen

Top Jury Descriptions: Cupping roast level begins 60 seconds after first crack (Cinnamon roast)

Aroma/Flavor: Nuts, peanuts, pear, green apple, strawberry, cocoa, white sugar, milk, chocolate, brown sugar

Acidity Complex: Low berry acidity, blueberry acidity, citrus acidity, plum, light and elegant

Complexity and Others: Low complexity, mild and smooth, balanced and clean mouthfeel, prominent peanut and licorice flavor, leaning toward an Assam tea-like sensation, sweet and long-lasting stone fruit aftertaste

Overall Style Attributes: Low intensity, sweet stone fruit, balanced and clean. Green beans have a passion fruit fermentation aroma. Acidity is less prominent and bright, still with berry notes. Aftertaste of floral tea and nuts lasts for some time. Overall balanced and smooth.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommended Brewing:

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 3.5

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, 15g coffee grounds. First infusion with 25g water, bloom for 25 seconds. Second infusion to 120g, then pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g. Extraction time around 2:00.

Analysis: Using a three-stage brewing method to clearly distinguish the front, middle and back-end flavors of the coffee. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains faster, pausing during pouring can extend the extraction time for natural processed coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Yellow Bourbon from South Minas is one of the sweetest, most approachable faces of Brazilian coffee, and if you want a classic Brazilian single origin, FrontStreet Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon is a good place to start. Roasted medium, it pours out creamy peanut, toasted bread, caramel and hazelnut aromas with a round body, very little acidity and a soft, faint bitterness. It is versatile enough for pour-over, moka pot, siphon and French press, and works as an SOE too.

For something a little rarer, FrontStreet Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon comes from Mogiana, near South Minas, where fertile red volcanic soil feeds the fruit. This lot is the rare Yellow Bourbon, a natural mutation of Red Bourbon, and it drinks cleaner and fruitier, with a sugarcane sweetness, fruit and chocolate that few other regions deliver. Pour-over, moka pot and home espresso machine all suit it.

Brazil is also the backbone of many espresso recipes, thanks to its low acidity, balanced cup and friendly price. FrontStreet's classic, premium and black cocoa blends all include Brazilian beans, which supply chocolate and cream aromas, soft sweet-sour-bitter balance and, importantly, stable extraction. That balance is exactly why a natural Yellow Bourbon like this one blends so well.