We love the people, we love the culture and we love the coffee.
Brazil is the world leader in coffee production; and most of it's exported coffee is purchased by the United States. Since Brazil has remained the undisputed giant in the coffee industry for over a century, it would be easy to fill an entire CD with information about Brazilian coffeeΓÇÖs. However, in the pursuit of efficiency, we will try to cover the main points of interest briefly.
BrazilΓÇÖs growing region extends from the Amazon in the north to Sao Paulo in the south; and from the Atlantic ocean in the east to the western boundary of the country. While almost all of BrazilΓÇÖs twenty one states produce coffee, there are four major plantations that account for nearly one quarter of the worldΓÇÖs coffee supply; Parana, Sao Paulo, Espirito Santo and Minas Gerias.
All Brazilian coffeeΓÇÖs are ArabicaΓÇÖs, and most are grown at altitudes of 1,800 to 4,000 feet.
Perhaps dismayed at the decline in world coffee prices, perhaps frustrated by internal policy; Brazilian farmers uprooted over a billion coffee tree's between 1991 and 1993. That combined with unusually harsh winter's in the early nineties has meant a decline in Brazilian coffee exports; And yet Brazil still out produces her closest competitor (Colombia) nearly two to one.
The price recovery in recent years and the more temperate winters should see Brazil's output back to normal by the end of the decade.
Because Brazil is such a large country, its plantations are vast and varied. Within Brazil's coffee plantations there are wide differences in temperature, humidity and altitude. It is possible to suggest that Brazil produces the best and worst coffee the world has to offer. A rule to remember when in doubt is, the higher grown the better. Brazilian coffee usually bears the name of the state in which it is grown, although sometimes it is named after the ports through which it is shipped. Santos is the assignment for finer coffeeΓÇÖs grown in Parana, Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais. Fine SantosΓÇÖ coffee is sweet and smooth; and you may want to make a point of testing Bourbon Santos, an exceptional, mildly acidic, medium bodied brew.
