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Flavor Profile Description of Brazilian Coffee Beans, What Makes Brazilian Coffee Beans Delicious, and Introduction to Brazil's Grading System

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Brazil is the world's most important coffee producing region, with total production accounting for one-third of the global supply. It is also the world's second-largest coffee consumer (first is the United States). The length of Brazil's dry season can even affect global coffee prices. Particularly this year, affected by the pandemic, the coffee harvesting progress in Brazil has slowed down at times. Brazil

Brazil is the world's most important coffee-producing region, accounting for one-third of global production. It is also the world's second-largest coffee consumer (the United States is first). The length of Brazil's dry season can even affect global coffee prices. This year, particularly due to the pandemic's impact, Brazil's coffee harvest progress slowed at times. The most distinctive feature of Brazilian coffee is that its cultivation altitude is not as high as surrounding coffee-producing countries. If judged by specialty coffee standards (elevation ≥1200m, variety, processing method, cupping score above 80), many coffee-producing regions in Brazil would not qualify based solely on altitude. As the world's largest coffee producer, Brazil has both large-scale commercial coffee based on commodity standards and specialty coffee led by COE (Cup of Excellence). Although Brazil has high production, in FrontStreet Coffee's bean selection, it only occupies two "spots" due to its flavor stability and uniformity formed by highly mechanized cultivation. Let's unveil the mysteries of Brazilian coffee and explore Brazil's balance between quantity and quality.

The History of Brazilian Coffee Cultivation

Brazilian coffee varieties were introduced to Brazil from French Guiana in the 1720s. Francisco de Mello Palheta, a Portuguese captain from Brazil, captured the heart of the governor's wife in Cayenne, the capital of French Guiana at the time, successfully bringing coffee seeds into Brazil. Since then, coffee quickly adapted in Brazil, spreading from the north to São Paulo state in the southeast and Paraná province in the south. These regions have slightly higher latitudes and experience frost in winter, causing serious losses for coffee farmers.

From 1970-1980, Brazilian farmers developed the warmer Minas province north of São Paulo state and Bahia. These areas have warm winters without frost, and today Minas province has become one of Brazil's main specialty coffee-producing regions.

Before 1990, the Brazilian government strictly regulated the coffee industry, with both strict interference and price protection measures. The country consistently implemented minimum price protection for farmers, leading to coffee overproduction.

Since 1990, the free market has opened up. The original "Brazilian Coffee Institute" (IBC) was replaced by the National Economic Association - a non-investment administrative agency of the state. This association pursued a non-interference policy, allowing producers and exporters to negotiate directly. Exporters' business activities are supervised by government legislation, and relevant departments register legitimate exporters. From three hundred years ago to the present, coffee has become Brazil's most important economic source, and Brazil has become the world's largest coffee-producing country.

So what exactly are the flavor characteristics of Brazilian coffee beans? The main varieties of Brazilian specialty coffee are Bourbon.

Red Bourbon, generally what we refer to as the Bourbon variety, shows a wine-red color when the coffee fruit matures, and the coffee beans have a relatively round shape. Bourbon varieties grown at high altitudes typically have better aroma and bright acidity, with flavors similar to red wine when tasted.

Pulped Natural Coffee Processing Method

Pulped natural processing involves removing the skin and pulp of coffee cherries while controlling the fermentation degree of the coffee beans with mucilage after depulping. Traditional natural processing involves sun-drying with the skin and pulp intact, making it impossible to observe the degree of mucilage fermentation. The pulped natural method is between natural and washed processing methods, but without the "tank fermentation and water rinsing" process of washed processing. Instead, the beans are directly taken to sunlight for drying. Although the methods appear similar, without the fermentation step, the flavor of the coffee beans is completely different.

In the pulped natural process of removing coffee cherry skin and pulp, ripe pulp is easier to remove, while the skin of unripe green cherries is difficult to process. This allows for a second screening to filter out unripe fruits and unify the maturity of coffee cherries. Compared to natural processing, FrontStreet Coffee believes that coffee beans processed through this selection method will have improved cleanliness and maturity, resulting in coffee with more uniform taste. The introduction of pulped natural processing doesn't mean all Brazilian producing regions use it. Cerrado, with lower humidity, still primarily uses natural processing, with pulped natural being secondary. Red Bourbon from the Cerrado region, however, is processed using the pulped natural method. Brewing flavors: high sweetness, clean, smooth, low acidity, with notes of peanuts, almonds, nuts, and chocolate.

Brazilian Coffee Bean Classification

Among coffee-growing countries in Central and South America, Brazil has relatively low altitude. Therefore, Brazil doesn't emphasize hard beans that can only grow in high-altitude regions like Colombia and other countries. Instead, Brazilian coffee beans are classified based on four criteria: grain size, defect rate, cupping score, and flavor.

Flavor classification (from high to low): Strictly Soft, Soft, Softish, Hardish, Rioy (iodine flavor).

Defect rate classification: Based on the number of defective beans, NY.2 has 6 defective beans per 300g of raw beans. Only completely defect-free beans can be classified as NY.1, but completely defect-free beans are rare and cannot maintain a consistent supply. Therefore, the best available Brazilian raw beans are NY.2.

Type | Defective beans (per 300g)
NY.2 | 6
NY.2/3 | 9
NY.3 | 13
NY.3/4 | 21
NY.4 | 30
NY.4/5 | 45
NY.5 | 60
NY.5/6 | >60

Cupping quality classification (from high to low): Fine Cup, Fine, Good Cup, Fair Cup, Poor Cup, Bad Cup. FC (Fine Cup) and GC (Good Cup) are more common.

Grain size classification: The largest screen size for Brazilian coffee beans is 19, but production is limited, so 17 and 18 screen sizes are considered the highest grade.