Coffee From Brazil
Coffee is believed to have arrived in Brazil in 1727 from French Guiana via Portuguese Lt. Col Francisco del Melo Palheta. As the story goes, he seduced the Guianese’s governor’s wife to acquire her help smuggling the seeds across the border—apparently it worked.
At first, Brazilian coffee was mainly consumed by European colonists locally. However, as demand grew in Europe and the United States, exports started ramping up. This blossoming demand caused 1802 to be a pivotal year for exports, and by 1820 Brazil was producing 30% of the world’s coffee.
What’s Behind That Incredible Taste?
Brazil, the world’s largest coffee producer, are a firm favourite across the speciality coffee world. Why is this the case?
Well, it comes down to a number of things from climate to government intervention:
– Flavour profile – intense chocolate, with a low acidity.
– Variety – Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, Esperito Santo, Bahia and Parana are the main coffee regions of Brazil… all of which located in the south-east which has an ideal coffee growing climate. With so many ideal regions it becomes easy to find a Brazilian coffee that you love.
– Due to scarce rainfall in the above regions, the beans must be washed (the natural process of coffee bean preparation)… this process adds body, smoothness and complexity to the beans.
– A coffee classification system which is in a league of its own. Having a bigger success criterion for beans than other coffee producing countries means amazing coffees arriving here in the UK.
– Brazilian government’s involvement – The Brazilian government deregulated the coffee industry in Brazil. This meant that coffee farms now work much closer with the coffee roasters in the UK.
– Coffee is dried within the fruit instead of outside of the cherry that it is harvested from. This allows the sweetness of the fruit to have much more influence over the taste of the final product.
Did you know the Brazil produces 30% of the world’s coffee supply and this comes from around 6 billion coffee bushes being planted in Brazil each year!