Main Coffee Varieties of Brazil & How to Properly Enjoy Brazilian Black Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee's Introduction to Brazilian Coffee

The "cafezinho" - a small cup of strong black coffee - is Brazil's beloved ritual. Offering one to a guest is both custom and etiquette, much as tea service is in China. Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer, rightly called the "Kingdom of Coffee." As the legend goes, coffee was first discovered by an old Ethiopian shepherd from the Kaffa region: when his flock ate the red berries of a certain bush and grew unusually excited and lively, he tried a few himself, felt a surge of energy, and danced with joy. Thus coffee came into the world.

The Catuai Variety

Catuai plants are small and sturdy, with green leaf tips and medium to small beans. Between 5 degrees north and south latitude it is generally grown above 1,600 meters; between 5 and 15 degrees it is typically planted above 1,300 meters; and beyond 15 degrees latitude it suits altitudes around 1,000 meters.

The variety has poor resistance to leaf rust, nematodes, and berry diseases, and its yields are not especially high. Beyond its fine flavor, it does not seem to offer many advantages.

Catuai was born at the Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC) in São Paulo, Brazil, a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra. Its compact plant size allows dense large-scale planting at nearly twice the density of Bourbon, which pushes its yield well above Bourbon's. And while its disease and pest resistance is unremarkable, the plant's convenient shape makes manual pest and disease management comparatively easy.

The name Catuai means "very good" in Portuguese. Today Catuai is regarded as good, if not exceptional, in the cup. It comes in both yellow-cherry and red-cherry forms. It was first created in 1949 by crossing yellow Caturra with Mundo Novo, under the original code H-2077.

The variety was officially released in Brazil in 1972 after pedigree selection (choosing individual plants across successive generations) and has been widely cultivated there ever since. Brazil now grows multiple Catuai lineages, some with very high production efficiency. Transplanted Catuai in Central America, however, tends to be less productive: research in Honduras and Costa Rica has found no significant yield advantage over Caturra.

Catuai also comes in red-fruit and yellow-fruit forms, the red-fruit type cupping cleaner than the yellow. Together with Caturra, Mundo Novo, and Bourbon, Catuai makes up the four main coffee varieties of Brazil.

How to Enjoy Brazilian Black Coffee

Brazilian beans carry moderate acidity and an excellent balance of sweetness, bitterness, and body, which makes them ideal for medium roasting - expect a rush of nutty aroma and a mellow, softly tangy cup that works as a single origin or a blend component.

FrontStreet Coffee's Mission

In summary: FrontStreet Coffee is a dedicated coffee research house, glad to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation to help more friends fall in love with coffee, and we keep working so that more people can enjoy great coffee. This has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past six years!

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste Brazil at its best, try FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon, a classic pulped natural single origin that shows cream, peanut, toast, caramel, and hazelnut at a medium roast - rounded, low in acidity, and at home in pour-over, moka pot, siphon, or espresso. For something rarer, the FrontStreet Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon from Mogiana offers a clean cane-sugar sweetness with fruit and chocolate notes, while the Classic Blend and Premium Blend put Brazilian chocolate and cream character to work in espresso.