WHAT IS BRAZILIAN SPECIALTY COFFEE?
The tremendous growth of Specialty grade coffee worldwide has saved many small scale producers in Brazil which was in decline with many going out of business due to the economies of scale seen from the large mass produced commoditized coffee producers.
This has paved the way for the ‘Fazendas’ farm model to develop at rapid pace, embracing technological innovation and now see Brazil produce some of the finest Specialty grade coffees in the world.
It is now estimated that up to 10% of total coffee production in Brazil is dedicated toward developing outstanding quality Specialty grade coffees, and is expected to continue to rise as a share of total production due to consumers becoming increasingly aware of the difference and benefits both in terms of quality of end product, and the sustainable and fair business practices typically achieved by demanding higher price for their product that is seen with Specialty coffee farmers.
HOW IS BRAZILLIAN COFFEE PROCESSED?
There are typically three common ways to process coffee after harvesting cherries:
- Wet (often called washed)
- Dry (often called natural)
- Semi-washed (often called pulped natural).
The vast majority of coffee beans in Brazil are processed via dry method, despite Brazil being a tropical climate, throughout the harvesting season (April-September), the weather is typically very dry lending itself well to the dry processing method.
For a more thorough understanding of various coffee processing techniques and main characteristics thereof, see a link to our article covering this here;
CHARACTERISTICS OF BRAZILIAN COFFEE
Whilst like fine wines, Specialty grade coffees should be understood for their own distinct profiles and characteristics, as a generalisation Brazilian coffee can be loosely categorised in the following way; Smooth bodies, low acidity, sweet, typically with notes of chocolate, caramel with slightly nutty notes.
We have indeed selected this seasons Brazilian coffee in this vein, of course being Specialty grade it has it’s own unique characteristics, but our Brazilian Fezanda Santa Hedwirges definitely falls in to the appreciated and sought after Brazilian coffee with that unmistakeable ‘snickers’ mouth feel, see for yourself here;
10 FUN FACTS ABOUT BRAZILIAN COFFEE
- Brazil is the #1 producer of coffee in the world
- Brazil has been the #1 producer of coffee for the last 150 years
- Brazil is the #1 consumer of coffee in the world
- Brazil produced 50-60 million bags (60kg e/a) of coffee each year, which makes up 30% of global production
- 80% of Brazil’s coffee is Arabica
- 10% of Brazil’s coffee production capability is now dedicated to Specialty Grade coffee circa 5-6 million bags (60kg) each year
- Brazil has circa 290,000 coffee growers
- The Brazilian coffee industry generates about 3.5 million jobs
- The general coffee harvest in Brazil is between April and September
- Children are widely given coffee at school to help increase domestic consumption.