Characteristics and Flavor Profiles of Brazilian Coffee Varieties: The History and Story of New World Catuai and Bourbon Coffee Beans

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As the world's largest producer of Arabica coffee, Brazil supports the entire coffee industry chain, from commercial to specialty coffee. Brazilian coffee is the main factor that determines the price of Arabica futures in the ICE Arabica coffee warehouse.

The high yield of Brazilian Arabica coffee beans is also attributed to Brazil's warm northern climate and flat terrain. The climate is suitable for Arabica coffee bean growth, and the flat terrain allows machine harvesting, improving overall yield.

Main Brazilian Coffee Regions

The main coffee-producing regions in Brazil are: Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Bahia, and Espírito Santo. These four places account for 90% of the country's total exports. The commonly known Mogiana comes from São Paulo. Cerrado and South Minas in Minas Gerais are three regions with higher altitudes, producing more specialty Brazilian coffee beans.

Flavor Characteristics of Brazilian Coffee Beans

Brazil's relatively low altitude, flat and monotonous terrain, lack of microclimates, and the traditional practice of sun-drying coffee trees create Brazil's unique soft bean flavor. Through cupping Brazilian coffee beans from different regions, FrontStreet Coffee believes that Brazilian coffee beans have low acidity, medium nutty flavor, with the sweet aroma of chocolate and a rich, mellow mouthfeel.

Main Brazilian Coffee Varieties

In these regions, three main varieties are cultivated: Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, and Mundo Novo.

Red Bourbon Variety

Bourbon originated as a natural mutation of the Typica coffee variety and is also a long-standing variety, with both belonging to the Arabica species. Typical Bourbon coffee mainly consists of green fruits that turn bright red when mature, which is what we know as "Red Bourbon."

Through cupping by FrontStreet Coffee, Red Bourbon coffee varieties grown in high-altitude areas exhibit better aroma and bright acidity, with noticeable sweetness and a wine-like flavor profile.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that the most basic element of specialty coffee is being able to taste the unique flavor of a producing region. The natural factors of each region's terroir, climate, and altitude allow coffee to express different yet representative flavors. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee has launched seven regional daily coffee beans, hoping everyone can experience the flavor performance of popular regions through the highest cost-performance ratio.

Among these, FrontStreet Coffee has selected a Frontsteet Brazilian Red Bourbon coffee bean from the Cerrado region of Minas Gerais, Brazil, grown at an altitude of 1100m and processed using the pulped natural method. Under appropriate drip extraction parameters, this Frontsteet Brazilian Cerrado coffee bean exhibits distinct sweetness, with subtle lemon aroma, rich nutty flavor, and pronounced dark chocolate notes in the finish. The overall experience is well-rounded, truly representative of Brazilian regional characteristics.

Yellow Bourbon Variety

Yellow Bourbon is a unique Bourbon variant found in São Paulo state, Brazil. Its name comes from the fact that when mature, the fruit doesn't turn red but instead presents an orange-yellow color. When grown in high-altitude areas, Yellow Bourbon can exhibit excellent flavor performance. Yellow Bourbon coffee beans have balanced and smooth acidity, weak and clean bitterness, with an overall bright and refreshing character.

The most famous place in Brazil for cultivating Yellow Bourbon is Fazenda Rainha, located in the Mogiana region of São Paulo state. Fazenda Rainha is managed by José Renato G. Dias, an agricultural engineer specializing in coffee production. The farm covers 280 hectares, with 200 hectares primarily planted with Yellow Bourbon, Icatu, Yellow Catuai, Mundo Novo, and Acaiá varieties. It holds BSCA and Utz certifications.

When coffee reaches maturity, handheld mechanical harvesting equipment is used to pick the fruit onto cloth to avoid contact with the ground. After harvesting, the coffee cherries are pulped and spread on patios to dry. The coffee slowly dries in the sun until it reaches 11% humidity. After drying, the coffee is stored in wooden granaries, which contributes to the more stable quality of Brazilian coffee beans produced by this estate.

The Frontsteet Brazilian Yellow Bourbon coffee beans currently sold by FrontStreet Coffee come from Fazenda Rainha. Under appropriate drip extraction parameters, this Frontsteet Brazilian Fazenda Rainha Yellow Bourbon coffee bean exhibits the fresh sweetness of sugarcane juice, with tea, mellow, and pleasant fruit sweetness, distinct nutty flavors, balanced and smooth acidity, weak and clean bitterness, rich chocolate aroma and nutty flavors, with a bright, refreshing, smooth and delicate mouthfeel.

Mundo Novo Variety

Mundo Novo is the result of a natural hybrid between Bourbon and Typica, first discovered in 1943 in Itapetininga, São Paulo, Brazil. Mundo Novo was initially planted in the city of Novo Mundo, which is now Urupês.

The first selection of Brazilian Mundo Novo coffee beans was completed between 1943 and 1952. This variety was distributed to coffee growers starting in 1952. In the 1960s, Mundo Novo was widely cultivated in Brazil and was hailed as the new hope of the Brazilian coffee industry. Later, in 1977, the Agronomical Institute of Campinas (IAC) released new selections. In Brazil and other South American countries, the Mundo Novo variety has very high commercial value. Mundo Novo also spread to other countries but failed to achieve widespread cultivation there for various reasons.

How to Brew Brazilian Coffee Beans for the Best Taste?

First, choose freshly roasted coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee ships all coffee beans within five days of roasting, ensuring 100% fresh-roasted beans.

To allow Brazilian coffee to express the unique nutty and mellow characteristics of its region, FrontStreet Coffee roasts the two Frontsteet Brazilian coffee beans on its menu to a medium-dark level. Medium-dark roasted coffee beans have a looser structure, making the substances within the beans easier to extract. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends brewing Brazilian coffee using lower temperature hot water and medium-coarse grinding.

The extraction method is as follows: First, pour 30g of water for blooming, with a blooming time of 30 seconds. Second, pour to about 125g of water, then wait for the coffee liquid to drop. When it drops to halfway, pour the final water to reach 225g. End the extraction after all the coffee has dripped through. The total extraction time is generally around 2 minutes and 10 seconds.

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