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South America: Brazil


Brazil is a coffee giant . As Frank Sinatra sang, "they grow an awful lot of coffee in Brazil". It's the largest producer of low grade arabica coffee, and a lot of Conilon robusta too. Brazil: there is some in almost every espresso you drink. In fact, some espresso is 90% Brazil. And there is Brazil in most canned coffee and big roasters' blends.

Map of Brasil
But things are changing in Brazil. There's the big push on behalf of Brazilian coffee growing associations to re-create the image of Brazilian as exquisite and distinctive Specialty-level coffee. And some of it is true Specialty coffee, but the majority is still common, low-grade, low-grown arabica. There just isn't the extreme distinction from cup to cup that distinguishes one regional coffee from another. Attention to good farming and processing techniques has helped, but the coffee is grown at lower altitudes than most Specialty coffee, in non-volcanic soils, in non-forested areas that are sometimes originally grassland (a reason why the "shade-grown issue" really doesn't apply much to Brazil ---the coffee farming areas had little shade to begin with.)
Am I saying Brazilian coffee is bad --heck no! I love these high-quality Brazilian coffees, and you should try it as a Full City or even Vienna roast: its great! And nothing touches a really good Dry-processed or Pulped-Natural Brazil as a base in Espresso blends. They produce more crema and body, adding sweetness and providing a great backdrop for the feature coffees. Brazil can be nutty, sweet, low-acid, and develop exceptional bittersweet and chocolate roast tastes. The caveat is, Brazils are not dense coffee seeds: they are grown at lower altitudes than Central American coffees. Hence the very dark roasts of Brazils pick up ashy, bittering flavors. For espresso, you can roast Brazils lighter, separately, or keep the entire blend at a Vienna roast or lighter: Northern Italian Espresso re: Illy's "Normale." Note that there are 3 processes of processing Brazil coffees of interest to us; Natural Dry- Process, Pulped Natural, and Semi-Washed. They produce different types of cups. The Natural has great body, chocolate, possibly fruity notes ... and it risks being earthier and more rustic in the cup. The Pulped Natural is when the coffee cherry skin is removed and the parchment, with a lot of the mucilage attached, is sun dried on patio or raised drying bed. This coffee cups like the fully Naturals but is a bit cleaner in the cup. The Semi-Washed uses a demucilage machine to remove the skin and some or all of the mucilage. So the Semi-Washed ranges in character from being identical to Pulped Natural to being similar to a Wet-processed coffee (clean cup, uniform, less body, less chocolate, a bit brighter). I like good Naturals- they have more intensity, produce more crema, but I have to cup them rigorously to watch for defective cup character. On the other end of things, really clean Semi-Washed, where a lot of the mucilage is removed, do not have Brazil character to me. Yes, these coffees score higher in the numbers, and they are now totally dominating the Cup of Excellence competition. But if you want a cleaner, brighter cup, the standard is set in other origins, not Brazil. Go buy a good Central American coffee. I want "origin character" from a coffee. I want intensity. I don't believe in a generic, universal "excellent" coffee to which all coffee origins should be compared. It's a bias I have, but for me it keeps coffees distinct, and preserves the uniqueness of the cup, and repects the coffee culture expressing itself through origin flavors.
Sul de Minas region - not a barren flatland


Naturals (brown) and pulped naturals (tan) on the patio.

Cupping competition in Cerrado. R to L, Ensei Neto, me, Christian Wolthers, Rob Stephen


The mechanical harvester used in flatland coffee areas. It actually does a good job of picking ripe cherry - see my 2004 comments.

A natural un-trimmed grove at Daterra's Boa Vista farm (a Cup of Excellence lot we offered 2 years ago).

"They grow and awful lot of coffee in Brasil" as Frank Sinatra sang - and I was trying to climb to the top of it to find out exactly how much.
Most quality Brazil I have found comes from the Sul de Minas, Mogiana, Cerrado and Matas de Minas regions, more specifically, from micro-climates within those regions. Cerrado region is, apparently, not a name many Brazilians recognize ... at last not those I have spoken with. Cerrado is a savana-like area, dry and flat, in Minas Gerais state. They produce a lot of coffee, and there are some unblended single farm lots that are good. Two microregions in Cerrado are of special interest: Chapadao de Ferro and Serra de Salita. People ask me about Santos coffee - Santos is a port, not a producing region. Coffee labeled Santos is pooled from market-grade lots and the lowest common denominator expresses itself as the primary cup character. Also, there is a lot of confusion online, perpetrated by coffee merchants (mostly innocent and unknowing) between region names, farms names, and cooperative names. For example, Monte Carmelo is a town in Cerrado, not a farm, and Cooxupe is a massive cooperative. The coffee you are actually getting in a bag of this is as unknown as buying Colombian Excelso. Sometimes, it used to be a decent cup ... but no more. It's a but random, since it does not rely on any solid, trackable relationship to a farm. In fact, a quick survey of green coffee sellers online reveals to me that not a single one currently offers a farm-specific coffee (well, except us ... all ours are from single farms). I am sorry of this sounds a little self-righteous, but the distinction here is very real, and expresses itself in very different levels of ongoing cup quality.

View my travelogues of Brazil Cerrado Cupping Competition 2004 and 2005 and trips through the Sul de Minas, Mogiana, and Matas de Minas coffee growing regions. You might also be intersted to read the our backissue newsletter Tiny Joy Jan-Feb '03: Brazil-O-Rama: excellent choices in Brazilian Coffee.

Some notes about Brazil and espresso blends: As many people know, Brazil is a traditional "base" coffee for espresso blends in the Italian style, and they can be excellent as unblended, straight espresso too. The trick is that Brazils prefer a lower initial roast temperature and not to be over-roasted. They can turn quite ashy tasting when roasted too dark. My personal preference is that Brazils for espresso are rested quite a while after roasting - in fact I had a straight pulped natural I roasted to a light Vienna for espresso, and I kept testing the cup because 2 days after roasting it was too lively, nippy - almost like a baking soda effect on your tongue. After 18 days it became one of the deepest. heavy bodied espresso I ever had! I am not saying coffee should be rested that long after roasting (especially other methods like French Press, Drip etc, which fade after as little as 7 days!), but if you don't have a good initial experience with a Brazil espresso, don't toss it - try it after a week, or even two. As far as the type of Brazil, Illy is said to use 100% pulped natural and semi-washed. I much prefer a really good Natural dry-process - more crema, more chocolate, more body, and some fruit note. -Tom


Coffee all day, and even "Coffee Night"
- a nightclub in smalltown Minas Gerais

Current Crop Comments:

We have two Brazil offerings - two rather un-BRazil-like Brazils. The first is Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza ("FAF"), a coffee plantation since 1850 that has been owned and run by the Barretto family since the early 1900s. This coffee is a result of a partnership with neighboring farms, a small lot from two families of Joao Hamilton and Celso Santos (they are brother-in-laws) that has an unusual, outstanding cup character.

Our Brazilian Coffee Offerings: Please refer to our Reference Page for definitions of terms and cupping numbers used below.


 
Brazil Cachoeira Yellow Canario Bourbon
This is a special micro-lot from Fazenda Cachoeira. The farm has been in the Carvalho Dias family since 1890. They recently celebrated their 107th crop, and recently their Organic coffees have achieved some recognition in the BSCA Brazil Late Harvest Competition, among others. Fazenda Cachoeira (it means waterfall, which is why there is more than one Cachoeira farm) is located in São Paolo State 3 miles from the border with Minas Gerais State. It enjoys the typical characteristics of the mountainous Sul de Minas regions that have made it the "heartland" of Brasilian coffee for many decades. Gabriel de Carvalho Dias, the owner, is also one of Brazil’s leading agronomists, an example of how it takes a very educated approach to tackle the challenges of organic coffee production. With a total area of 417 hectares, Fazenda Cachoeira has a coffee area of 165 hectares, along with other crops, ranch, and nature preserve. On this farm everything is done manually since its topography does not allow any kind of mechanization as you might find in the flat Cerrado savanna terrain.

Most of the offerings from Cachoeira are Yellow Bourbon cultivar, now widely available, and the cup quality varies from lot to lot. I have been very selective with our offerings, and this year the screen-dried Yellow Bourbon was not up to par. But this sample was totally different: a local mutation of Bourbon called Yellow Canario, available in limited amounts. This is also special because the green coffee is vacuum-packaged in 7.5 kilo bricks in Brazil, and imported in boxes, not jute bags. As you know, we are doing this with many of our top coffees, when it is possible, and the results have been positive from most origins. This Yellow Canario Bourbon is so much more dynamic than the other Cachoeira lots, bright, lively. The dry fragrance has sweet peach and floral elements, nice cocoa powder and dry-roasted hazelnut character at C+ roast. Add water and herbal-floral notes emerge with a touch of jasmine flower. There's a sweetness in the aroma you find in few Brazils. While my lightest roasts had a lemony tone, I much preferred City+ roast for its balance. There are sweet jasmine floral hints peeking out from behind a cocoa chocolate flavor, velvety mouthfeel, light body and a very elegant, sweet finish. Hazelnut and lightly malted chocolate dominate the roast flavor at City + roast, complimenting the lightly fruited flavors and jasmine accent. As it cools golden raisin sweetness and a lemongrass tea quality come out. For those cuppers in the coffee trade who avoid Brazils, this is a coffee that could change their minds, and the type of Brazil that would do very well in the Cup of Excellence. It has a premium price, but if it went through CoE it would be exponentially more.

This coffee is part of our direct trade Farm Gate pricing transparency program.

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Brazil Cachoeira Yellow Canario Bourbon
$6.90$13.11$30.02$57.27$106.26
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Drying on covered raised beds, from my last trip.
Country: Brazil
Grade: 2/3s SS FC
Region: Sao Paolo, Near Minas Gerais Border
Mark: Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama, Vac packed
Processing: Pulp Natural Process
Crop: January 2009 Arrival, Vac Pack
Appearance: .2 d/300gr, 16-18 screen
Varietal: 100% Yellow Canario Bourbon
Intensity/Prime Attribute: Mild intensity / Elegant, clean fruits, floral, sweet finish
Roast: City+. This lot benefits from a real "medium" roast; too light and it lacks the velvety body and dimension; too dark and the floral notes are eclipsed.
Compare to: Top tier, competition quality Brazils, mild, elegant, nuanced. Those looking for Dry-processed flavors and intensity might look elsewhere - this is a sweet, refined coffee.
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Brazil Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza Celso/Hamilton
Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza ("FAF") has been a coffee plantation since 1850 and has been owned and run by the Barretto family since the early 1900s. Since 2002, Silvia Barretto and her husband, Marcos Croce, have been working on transforming the farm into a model of sustainable organic agriculture. They produce varied crops, dairy, honey, sundry garden vegetables, but coffee is at the heart of this farm's production. The farm is located near Mococa, in the Sao Paolo state, very near the border with Minas Gerais. They have won the SCAA Sustainability reward and a host of others for their biodynamic approach to agriculture. They have partnered with neighboring farms and offer separate micro lots when the quality dictates. That's the case here, a small lot from two families of Joao Hamilton and Celso Santos (they are brother-in-laws) that has an unusual, outstanding cup character. The dry fragrance has ample chocolate, spicy and savory character. There's a bit of anise and sassafras, and (please don't laugh) a little soy sauce scent. Wet aromas are really unique as well, with Saison beer character, yeasty, and dynamic at the City+ level. There is an odd-yet-pleasant sweetness to the aromatics, with suggestions of malt and molasses syrup. The cup has exotic spice and raisiny sweetness. There are herbal notes, sage, opaque body, mulling spices. As you roast darker, that turns to dried fig, dark berry, with almond butter and chocolate in the finish. It's such a different coffee at intermediate roast levels, but all are good. I rarely roast Brazils to a very light City roast, just after 1st crack, but this coffee had a lemon cookie sweetness at this level, golden raisins, and jasmine tea finish! There are minerally notes in the light-medium roasts, and an interesting balance between sweetness and drying nutty tones. Somehow, I am reminded of Yemeni coffees, if for no other reason that the exotic flavor profile, and rustic suggestions.

This coffee is part of our direct trade Farm Gate pricing transparency program.

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Brazil Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza Celso/Hamilton
$6.10$11.59$26.54$50.63$93.94
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The Celso and Hamilton families at FAF near Mococa, Sao Paolo state.
Country: Brazil
Grade: Estate Grade
Region: Mococa, Sao Paolo state, near Minas
Mark: FAF, Farmer: Celso and Hamilton families
Processing: Pulp Natural Process
Crop: March 2009 Arrival
Appearance: 1.8 d/300gr, 16-18 screen
Varietal: Mundo Novo, Catuai
Intensity/Prime Attribute: Mild-Medium intensity / A complex and unique flavor profile
Roast: City+ to FC for drip type coffee brews, FC to FC+ for espresso extraction.
Compare to: I am reminded of Fazenda Barreiro from Pocos de Caldas that we had last season, and there are some hints of Yemeni coffee here.
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Brazil Jacu Bird Coffee
Over the years, the Kopi Luwak issue is raised occasionally, i.e. the pariah coffee: Yes, it's a novelty, but the cup quality of the mostly Robusta Kopi Luwak is very poor. From this, many customers have assumed we stood on firm moral high-ground and would never stoop so low as to offer animal-excreted coffee. AHA! Your were wrong! We like all the infantile poop jokes just as much as the next person! Truly, the main problem with the Luwak is the lousy cup, the ridiculous price, and (in recent years) my concern that people are actually forcing this poor little Civet Cat to eat the coffee. So here we have the South America antithesis: Jacu Bird coffee. This is something I had heard of on my travels, but the reality of stocking a small amount of this coffee only arose after conversations with one of our partners from Brazil. The Camocim and Atalaia Farms are populated with a native South American Jacu Bird. These indigenous creatures are vegetarians, inhabiting forested plantations (shade grown coffee areas) and feasting on the ripe coffee cherries: It is a natural selection process of quality coffee. The farm owner, Henrique Sloper wrote this, "As a supporter of the natural flora and fauna of the farm, Camocim welcomes the Jacu Bird as a member of the farm’s agro-florestal system. Rather that think of the Jacu Bird as a pest, eating our finest coffee cherries, we saw the opportunity to employ the Jacu Bird as one of our finest manual coffee pickers. Once ingested, the Jacu Bird, eliminates the digested beans which lie on the ground under the coffee trees. Our staff collects these odorless droppings, transports them to the drying areas where they are dried, cleaned and stored in their parchment for up to three months." Note his comment: the coffee comes out of the Jacu in parchment, not as hulled green bean. While Kopi Luwak cups like low grade industrial robusta, the Jacu Bird coffee has a good mild Brazil specialty-level cup. Understand me: I am not saying this has some crazy cup character; it is a nice cup resulting from a very unique, er, process. The dry fragrance has a soft nutty sweetness to it, while the wet aromatics has a bit of molasses and brown bread. There is a slight black pepper note in the finish. The body is fairly heavy; it's good natural Brazil coffee. This year is better than last, and we had the green coffee vacuum-packed at origin to assure the freshness and cup character. I will leave much of the jokes about this Jacu coffee to you, but one you CAN make about Kopi Luwak that you cannot make about our Jacu Bird coffee: it does NOT taste like crap. It is a nice, low-acid, mild, rustic cup.

This coffee is part of our direct trade Farm Gate pricing transparency program.

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Brazil Jacu Bird Coffee
$13.60Limit 1 pound
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Meet Your Coffee Source... the Jacu
Country: Brazil
Grade: Avian-selected
Region: Pedra Azul, Espirito Santo
Mark: Camocim and Atalaia Estates
Processing: Natural Bird Processed
Crop: June 2008 Arrival
Appearance: .8 d/300gr, 17+ Screen
Varietal: Icatu, Catuai, Bourbon
Intensity/Prime Attribute: Medium intensity / Low-acidity, nuts, dusty sweetness.
Roast: Full City+. I blended a C+ roast and FC+ and had nice results. I also had a very pleasant brew result from a Vacuum Brewer (in this case, a Yama modified with a glass Cona filter rod). Maria, who does not usually care for coffees with rustic flavors, enjoyed it.
Compare to: Natural processed Brasil, but in this case, animal-excreted. Please Note: This coffee has a very ruddy appearance due to the special "resting period" of the coffee in parchment. This coffee is part of our direct trade Farm Gate pricing transparency program.
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