Brazilian Coffee Beans - Why Are They Inexpensive? Flavor Profile Introduction

FrontStreet Coffee - Brazilian Coffee Introduction

Brazil's annual coffee production accounts for roughly one-third of the global total, making it the world's largest coffee producer and exporter to this day. In 2015 alone, Brazil produced 36.89 million bags of coffee (60 kg per bag)—can you imagine how many cups that could fill?

The country's output and market trends have a direct influence on international coffee prices. This means a drought in Brazil can send global coffee prices climbing. Such enormous volumes have led some coffee lovers to assume that Brazilian coffee is all about quantity rather than quality, which makes it harder for Brazilian producers to market their beans.

Many businesses buy commercial Brazilian beans for espresso blends, and there is nothing wrong with that. What's important to know, though, is that Brazil also produces a steady supply of specialty coffee. Brazilian single-origin coffees are not only abundant but also high in quality and distinctive in flavor. Typically, Brazilian coffee shows rich caramel and chocolate notes, noticeable sweetness and low acidity. That low acidity can sometimes cause people to underestimate it—but taste carefully, and you'll be surprised by how lovely it really is.

Most Brazilian coffee is processed either by the natural (dry) method or by semi-washed methods. In the natural method, the cherries are dried whole, with their skin and pulp still intact, right after harvest. Natural processing enhances the bean's body, sweetness, smoothness and flavor complexity. Brazil's low rainfall and long hours of sunshine make its climate especially well suited to natural processing.

FrontStreet Coffee's Mission

In short, FrontStreet Coffee is a specialty coffee research house, and we are happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. Our unreserved sharing exists purely to help more friends fall in love with coffee. We also run three low-price coffee events every month, because FrontStreet Coffee wants more people to enjoy the best coffee at the lowest possible price. That has been our mission for the past six years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste the classic Brazilian profile, reach for the FrontStreet Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon—a benchmark single-origin from the renowned Cerrado region. Roasted to a medium level, it opens with creamy peanut, toasted bread, caramel and hazelnut aromas, then finishes round and mellow, low in acidity with just a whisper of bitterness. It works beautifully as pour-over, in a moka pot, as an espresso SOE, or in a siphon and French press.

For something rarer, try the FrontStreet Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon. Grown in Mogiana on fertile red volcanic soil, this yellow-fruited mutation is prized for its cleaner fruit character, delivering the sugarcane-like sweetness, fruit and chocolate notes that set it apart. It performs equally well as pour-over, in a moka pot or on a home espresso machine. And because Brazil is the foundation of so many espresso recipes, FrontStreet's Classic Blend, Premium Blend, Dark Cocoa Blend and Commercial Blend all use Brazilian beans to supply their chocolate and cream aromas along with a soft, balanced sweet-sour-bitter structure.