Brazil Coffee Bean Origin Regions Characteristics Harvest Time Introduction Brazil Coffee Varieties Origin Story Production Environment Current Status

FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil coffee beans feature a smooth and gentle mouthfeel with subtle acidity and rich nutty flavors. FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil coffee beans are one of the most easily accepted varieties for coffee beginners. They are also the top recommendation from FrontStreet Coffee's baristas for customers who dislike acidity. If you follow news about the global coffee market, you'll notice that Brazil appears in every report about futures price increases. That's because Brazil is the world's largest coffee-producing country. Interestingly, however, over three hundred years ago, Brazil was a place without coffee trees.

According to legend, in 1727, a Portuguese officer named Francisco was sent to resolve territorial disputes between France and the Netherlands in the Guiana Islands. Upon reaching Cayenne, he caught the eye of the governor's wife. As he prepared to depart, the governor's wife presented him with a bouquet of flowers, hidden within which were coffee seeds. Later, these seeds took root, sprouted, and thrived in Brazil's soil.

The Rise of Brazilian Coffee

With the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in the late 18th century, coffee replaced tea as America's patriotic beverage, leading to a surge in coffee houses and increased demand for Brazilian coffee beans. By the 1820s, coffee had become Brazil's main export crop, bringing significant economic benefits to the region, with railways built directly from ports to coffee plantations. The American Civil War in the 1860s further deepened the dependence on Brazilian coffee beans, making them essential military supplies.

However, because Brazil primarily grew the Typica variety at the time, production couldn't meet demand. Consequently, they sought high-yield coffee varieties from around the world, ultimately introducing the Bourbon variety from Réunion Island. By the 1870s, the Bourbon variety had become the main coffee cultivar in Brazil.

Today, Brazil's coffee-producing regions are mainly distributed across six major states: Bahia, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Paraná, and Rio de Janeiro.

On FrontStreet Coffee's bean menu, all coffee beans from Brazil are of the Bourbon variety. However, they differ: one comes from FrontStreet Coffee's daily bean series and is a Red Bourbon variety, while another from Brazil's Fazenda Rainha (Queen's Farm) is a Yellow Bourbon variety.

FrontStreet Coffee · Brazil Fazenda Rainha Yellow Bourbon

Region: Mogiana, São Paulo State, Brazil
Farm: Fazenda Rainha
Altitude: 1400-1950 meters
Variety: Yellow Bourbon
Processing: Natural

The Yellow Bourbon coffee variety was first documented in São Paulo State in 1871. Initially thought to be a bottle mutation of Typica, scientific verification later confirmed it as a natural variant of the Bourbon variety. Because the Yellow Bourbon variety has a thicker mucilage layer than Red Bourbon, which contains rich sugar substances, Yellow Bourbon exhibits more pronounced sweetness, along with a subtle lemon aroma.

The Brazilian Fazenda Rainha Yellow Bourbon coffee sourced by FrontStreet Coffee comes from São Paulo State, where coffee beans play an important role in the state's economic crops. Due to the Port of Santos under São Paulo State, it is also one of the historically significant producing regions. The Fazenda Rainha selected by FrontStreet Coffee is located in the most important coffee sub-region of São Paulo State—the Mogiana region. With suitable growing altitudes (900-1200 meters), moderate temperatures (average temperature around 20°C), and complex terrain, this area produces high-quality Brazilian coffee beans with abundant sweetness.

Fazenda Rainha's planting area spans approximately 280 hectares, with over 200 hectares dedicated to the lower-yield Yellow Bourbon variety. The FrontStreet Coffee Brazilian Yellow Bourbon coffee beans use natural processing. Since natural processing requires longer drying times and more manual labor, Fazenda Rainha specifically employs small-batch natural processing to ensure the quality of these Brazilian coffee beans.

After selecting ripe Yellow Bourbon coffee cherries, they are evenly spread on raised beds to avoid contact with soil that could cause earthy flavors. Meanwhile, the cherries need frequent turning to prevent the development of unpleasant acidity or fermentation flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Red Bourbon

The other Brazilian coffee bean introduced by FrontStreet Coffee is the Brazil Red Bourbon from the daily bean series. This FrontStreet Coffee Brazilian daily bean comes from the Cerrado region of Minas Gerais State. In FrontStreet Coffee's daily bean series, selected regions are all iconic producing areas. To present the most fundamental flavors of each region, most processing methods are washed. Except for individual regions that follow local traditions, such as FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Mandheling, which uses Sumatra's distinctive wet-hulling processing method, while Brazil uses pulped natural processing.

FrontStreet Coffee · Brazil Red Bourbon
Region: Cerrado, Minas Gerais State, Brazil
Altitude: 1100 meters
Variety: Red Bourbon
Processing: Pulped Natural

The reason Brazil widely adopted pulped natural processing was to increase coffee bean exports in the late 20th century. Compared to the most original coffee processing method—natural processing—washed processing can significantly shorten the drying time and improve the quality of green coffee beans. However, many parts of Brazil lack sufficient water resources, and washed processing requires substantial investment. Brazil couldn't meet these two requirements for full washing, so based on local conditions, they developed pulped natural processing, which friends often hear referred to as semi-dry processing.

Pulped natural processing involves removing the cherry skin and pulp, then spreading them evenly for drying. This method effectively shortens the required drying time, improves green bean quality, and brings a different experience to coffee flavor and mouthfeel. Sharp-eyed friends will notice that Brazil's pulped natural processing has similarities to honey processing. In fact, Costa Rica's honey processing method was borrowed from Brazil's pulped natural processing.

The Cerrado region of Brazil belongs to Minas Gerais State. The state's coffee production in 2020 accounted for 40% of Brazil's total coffee production, making it one of Brazil's largest coffee-producing regions. Additionally, the Cerrado region is Brazil's first coffee-producing area to receive Brazilian Geographical Indication certification. This FrontStreet Coffee Brazilian Cerrado coffee bean features classic Brazilian coffee flavors.

Brewing Recommendations

Since FrontStreet Coffee's two Brazilian coffee beans are medium-dark roasted, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using 88°C water temperature, a KONO dripper, and medium-coarse grind for brewing.

Dripper: KONO dripper
Water Temperature: 88°C
Dose: 15 grams
Ratio: 1:15
Grind: Chinese standard #20 sieve, 75% pass-through

First, pour 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom. Then, inject with a small water flow from the center, slowly circling to 125 grams. Continue pouring to 225 grams as the coffee bed becomes visible. Total extraction time is approximately 2 minutes.

[FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Fazenda Rainha] Rich nutty flavors upon entry, sugarcane sweetness, with subtle lemon aroma, dark chocolate aftertaste, rich layers, smooth and rounded mouthfeel.

[FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon] Rich roasted peanut and nutty flavors upon entry, caramel sweetness, and creamy silky mouthfeel.

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