Why is Brazilian Coffee Often Used in Coffee Blends? Introduction to Brazilian Specialty Coffee Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon

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Currently, Brazil has firmly held the top spot in global coffee production for over 150 years, producing approximately one-third of the world's coffee annually. It's worth noting that Brazilian coffee mostly appears in espresso blends. Among FrontStreet Coffee's five espresso blend coffee beans, four contain Brazilian coffee beans, highlighting its significant importance.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that Brazilian coffee frequently appears in espresso blends mainly because of its large production volume, affordable price, and consistent quality and flavor. Brazilian coffee possesses the typical flavor characteristics of American coffees, with a balanced profile of cocoa and nutty notes, offering a rich and mellow taste that provides a fundamental foundation for a cup of coffee.

Brazil's Ideal Coffee Growing Conditions

Brazil's impressive coffee production volume benefits from the country's geographical environment. As the largest country in South America, Brazil boasts vast territories with 26 states, 17 of which produce coffee. Coffee is primarily cultivated on the flat highlands of south-central Brazil, at altitudes around 1,000 meters, suitable for large-scale cultivation. With abundant sunshine, favorable climate, and fertile soil, this region is ideal for coffee and other agricultural practices.

Although neighboring countries also grow coffee, none can match Brazil's production scale. Coffee plantations in Brazil are typically much larger than large farms in other producing countries and utilize mechanized operations. Large machines operate among coffee forests, and extensive irrigation systems supplement moisture for the soil and coffee trees. Therefore, Brazil can undoubtedly be considered the world's most advanced and industrialized coffee-producing country.

Flavor Profile of Brazilian Coffee

Due to lower altitudes, relatively flat terrain, lack of microclimates, and coffee trees growing directly under sunlight without shade, Brazilian coffee beans lack the floral and fruity acidity emphasized by other renowned coffee regions. Instead, they primarily exhibit the main flavors of low-altitude coffee beans, featuring low acidity, prominent nutty flavors, and a richer, more mellow mouthfeel.

Quality Pursuit and Premium Varieties

Despite ranking among the top in production volume worldwide, Brazil also pursues higher standards for coffee quality and flavor. Many local farms and industry associations place great importance on the quality of green beans and technical research. For example, the Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC) has consistently focused on the preservation, genetic research, and breeding of various plants, including coffee, enabling Brazilian coffee to lead the world in genetic breeding, sustainable development, and other aspects, while also providing valuable experience and guidance to other countries.

As the founding country of the renowned premium coffee competition Cup of Excellence (COE), Brazil also has several premium coffee plantations, mostly located in mountainous sub-regions such as Alta Mogiana, Cerrado, and Sul de Minas. These regions generally have higher altitudes, with coffee forests planted on sloping terrain. Unlike other low-altitude areas in Brazil where mechanical harvesting can be used extensively, these regions primarily rely on manual picking.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brazilian premium coffee beans come from Fazenda Rainha in the Mogiana region, which has won many awards and rankings in various coffee competitions in Brazil, including COE. The plantation has always placed great emphasis on environmental protection and sustainable development, and is renowned for producing the high-quality variety Yellow Bourbon.

The Unique Yellow Bourbon Variety

Common Bourbon coffee cherries transition from green to light yellow, orange-yellow, red, and finally to fully ripe dark red, which we refer to as Red Bourbon. Red Bourbon coffee grown at high altitudes offers balanced flavors, rich aroma, and smooth acidity. FrontStreet Coffee's daily house blend is selected from Red Bourbon.

Unlike typical cherries that turn cherry red when ripe, Yellow Bourbon was discovered in 1930 when its fruit remained yellow during maturity. Later research by the Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC) found that plants with dominant XcXc gene pairs produce red berries, while plants with recessive xcxc gene pairs produce yellow berries. In rare cases, plants with one dominant gene and another recessive Xcxc plant produce orange berries. Therefore, the "yellow" color of Yellow Bourbon is due to genetic selection for color. Yellow Bourbon grown in high-altitude areas contains high amounts of fructose and can present sweet, juicy flavors. It once dominated the Brazil Cup of Excellence competition for two consecutive years, almost sweeping the top three awards and taking the premium coffee world by storm!

Due to the higher density and glucose content of Yellow Bourbon coffee beans grown at high altitudes, FrontStreet Coffee's roasting approach aims to highlight the classic mellow aroma of Brazilian coffee while showcasing Bourbon's inherent sweetness. Therefore, this FrontStreet Coffee Fazenda Rainha coffee bean uses medium-dark roasting. After brewing, it presents a fruity sweetness on the palate, with flavors of sugarcane, chocolate, and peanut nuts, a subtle and clean bitterness, and a smooth, delicate mouthfeel. It's suitable for coffee lovers who don't particularly like acidity and prefer balanced flavors with nutty notes.

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