History of Major Brazilian Coffee Growing Regions and Flavor Characteristics - Which Brazilian Coffee Brand is Best?

Whenever there's a transportation strike or extreme climate phenomenon in Brazil, coffee bean prices follow suit and rise. In 2021 alone, Arabica coffee bean futures prices have already doubled.

Brazil's coffee bean production in 2020 was approximately 63.4 million bags (60 kg each), accounting for 37.4% of the global market share. If Brazil's coffee production declines, global coffee bean futures prices will rise accordingly.

The History and Development of Brazilian Coffee

Compared to Ethiopia, the world-recognized country of origin for coffee beans, Brazilian coffee cultivation began in 1727. Initially, production was minimal and only for domestic use. Later, due to the American Revolutionary War, in order to break ties with Britain, Washington publicly declared coffee as a patriotic beverage. The number of coffee shops in the United States surged, and coffee bean imports increased dramatically, providing trade opportunities for Brazil.

Brazilian coffee cultivation expanded rapidly in the nineteenth century. By the mid-nineteenth century, Brazilian coffee beans accounted for half of Brazil's total exports. Coffee brought enormous economic benefits to Brazil, even leading to the construction of railways that allowed coffee plantations deep inland to more conveniently transport coffee beans to ports, enabling the rapid expansion of coffee plantation scale.

By the 1860s, coffee became an essential military supply during the American Civil War. The demand for Brazilian coffee increased significantly, but due to the low yield of the Typica variety, the higher-yielding Bourbon variety was introduced from Réunion Island. By the 1870s, the Bourbon variety had become the main coffee cultivar in Brazil.

Unfortunately, in the early 1930s, the United States suffered from the Great Depression. At that time, Brazilian coffee production already accounted for about 80% of the global total. As the largest consumer of Brazilian coffee, the United States could not afford the cost of coffee, leading to unsold Brazilian coffee beans that could only be stored in warehouses. However, the larger the quantity, the more severe the depreciation. Eventually, the Brazilian government had no choice but to burn 78 million bags of coffee.

Brazilian Coffee Production Regions

Brazil is a country abundant in coffee, with 17 out of its 21 states producing coffee. However, Brazilian coffee production is mainly concentrated in six states: Bahia, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Paraná, and Rondônia.

The main differences between coffee-producing countries include the soil, altitude, and temperature of the farms where coffee is grown. Brazilian coffee beans are characterized by weak acidity, noticeable sweetness, and a smooth mouthfeel. On FrontStreet Coffee's bean list, there are only two coffees from Brazil: one is Brazilian Red Bourbon, and the other is Brazilian Queen's Estate.

Among these, the Brazilian Red Bourbon is classified in the daily coffee series, which shows FrontStreet Coffee's emphasis on this coffee bean.

FrontStreet Coffee: Brazilian Red Bourbon

Country: Brazil
Region: Cerrado, Minas Gerais State
Altitude: 1000 meters
Variety: Red Bourbon
Processing Method: Semi-washed

The semi-washed processing method is the prototype of honey processing. In 1990, Brazil wanted to adopt the washed processing method to increase coffee bean exports, but due to Brazil's dry weather and water scarcity, as well as the significant capital investment required for washed processing, they invented the Pulped Natural method, which is the semi-washed method.

The processing method of removing the skin and pulp while retaining some mucilage for drying can be shorter in time than the oldest and most primitive natural processing method, while effectively improving the quality of raw beans and the flavor and taste of coffee. Brazil's traditional semi-washed method has also provided a good reference case for some coffee-producing countries in the Americas that lack funds and water resources. Costa Rican honey-processed coffee is an excellent example.

This Brazilian Red Bourbon from FrontStreet Coffee comes from the Cerrado region, which belongs to the main producing area of Minas Gerais State. This state accounted for about 40% of Brazil's coffee production in 2020. The coffee cultivation altitude in the Cerrado region ranges from 800 to 1200 meters. The Cerrado region is the first coffee region in Brazil to obtain Brazilian origin certification and mainly consists of large-scale coffee plantations.

The Brazilian semi-washed Red Bourbon in FrontStreet Coffee's daily coffee series has rich nutty and chocolate flavors, caramel sweetness, a smooth and silky mouthfeel, and overall balance.

There is also another Brazilian Yellow Bourbon in FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil section for everyone to compare. The Brazilian Yellow Bourbon on FrontStreet Coffee's bean list comes from Queen's Estate in the Mogiana region of São Paulo State. The Mogiana region in São Paulo State has rugged terrain, high altitude, mild climate, and fertile red volcanic soil, making it easy to produce high-quality coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee: Brazilian Queen's Estate

Region: Mogiana Region, São Paulo State, Brazil
Estate: Queen's Estate
Altitude: 1400 meters - 1950 meters
Variety: Yellow Bourbon
Processing Method: Natural

Through cupping coffee beans from different regions, FrontStreet Coffee found that fertile soil is a necessary condition for producing high-quality coffee beans. As soil fertility increases, coffee tree yields increase, and they can better resist the invasion of coffee plant diseases, which is particularly important for the cultivation of Arabica coffee varieties. Mineral-rich soil also has a significant beneficial impact on the flavor of healthy coffee fruits.

Queen's Estate has a planting area of 280 hectares, of which 200 hectares are planted with the Yellow Bourbon coffee variety. Through cupping and comparing Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon, FrontStreet Coffee found that Yellow Bourbon has more noticeable sweetness, a faint lemon aroma, and more intense fruit flavors. Scientific verification has found that the Yellow Bourbon variety has more sugar content than the Red Bourbon variety because the mucilage layer of Yellow Bourbon is richer and contains more sugary substances.

FrontStreet Coffee's Queen's Estate Yellow Bourbon uses the natural processing method, which further enhances the already noticeable sweetness of this Yellow Bourbon coffee. Since the natural processing method requires more labor investment, Queen's Estate uses small-scale natural processing when adopting the natural processing method to ensure the quality of coffee beans, and they are evenly spread on African raised beds for natural drying. This avoids undesirable fermentation flavors caused by uneven turning of coffee fruits and earthy flavors caused by contact with soil.

When FrontStreet Coffee's roaster received these carefully processed raw beans from Queen's Estate, considering the need to highlight the sweetness of Yellow Bourbon, the characteristic nutty notes of Brazilian coffee, and the smooth, rich mouthfeel, they adopted a medium-dark roast.

When brewing this coffee, since it's medium-dark roasted, FrontStreet Coffee suggests using a dripper with slower flow rate, such as a KONO dripper. To avoid over-extraction due to too slow a flow rate, water temperature can be set to 88 degrees Celsius with a slightly coarser grind. At the same time, for richer layers, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a three-stage pouring method for brewing.

Dripper: KONO dripper
Water temperature: 88 degrees Celsius
Coffee amount: 15 grams
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15
Grind size: 70% pass-through through #20 sieve

First pour 30 grams of water for bloom for 30 seconds, then slowly pour in a small circular motion with the second pour to 125 grams. Wait until the water level in the dripper drops to 1/2, then gently pour the third stage to 225 grams. When the water in the dripper has completely dripped into the receiving container below, remove the dripper. Total extraction time is approximately 2 minutes.

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