Why Coffee Producing Regions Like South Minas Shape Red Bourbon Flavor

Red Bourbon from the South Minas region of Brazil is known for nutty-chocolate notes and a low-acid, full-bodied cup. The semi-washed process, a common coffee bean processing method in Brazil, brings out flavors of nuts, chocolate, cream, peanut and caramel, which suits drinkers who avoid acidic coffee.

Brazil is a leading coffee producing region and the largest producer globally, with domestic consumption growing about 5 percent a year and per capita intake now above that of the United States. Any disruption to its harvest moves the world market. The article covers South Minas terroir, Red Bourbon traits, roasting analysis and brewing suggestions.

Brazil, as the world's largest coffee producer, has red bourbon coffee beans from the South Minas region known for their nutty-chocolate notes and low-acid, full-bodied taste. In Front Street Coffee's daily beans series, this Brazilian Red Bourbon uses the semi-washed process, presenting rich flavors of nuts, chocolate, cream, peanut, and caramel. This article will introduce the terroir conditions of the South Minas region, the characteristics of the Red Bourbon variety, the process features of the semi-washed method, as well as Front Street Coffee's roasting analysis and brewing suggestions, helping coffee lovers fully understand the charm of this classic Brazilian coffee.

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Front Street Brazilian coffee has always been loved by coffee enthusiasts for its full body, low acidity, and nutty-cocoa aroma. In Front Street Coffee's daily beans series, there is a Front Street Brazilian Red Bourbon coffee bean with obvious chocolate and nutty flavors, full-bodied and moderately soft, making it the perfect choice for those who do not like acidic coffee. Front Street Coffee not only includes Brazil in its daily beans series, but Front Street Brazilian coffee beans can also be found in its seasonal drip coffee bag series, showing that Brazil, as a coffee-producing country, is an indispensable presence among classic coffee flavors.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Brazilian Coffee

Brazil's coffee bean consumption maintains an annual growth rate of about 5%. Its per capita coffee consumption has surpassed that of the United States, making it the world's largest coffee-consuming country. Its production ranks first globally, and any impact on the country's coffee production will directly affect global coffee fluctuations.

According to the latest news from Coffee Financial Network, Bloomberg reports that Brazil's domestic coffee warehouses are almost full of coffee beans, operating at an overload level never seen before in history. Trucks loaded with coffee beans from producing regions need to line up for days at warehouse doors before they can unload. Due to the current high spot prices, farmers have already sold a large portion of this year's coffee production (estimated at 60%, higher than the 40%-plus of previous years). On the other hand, due to reduced demand and supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of coffee beans have been placed in warehouses. A local agricultural consulting company in Brazil said that unloading takes 6-7 days, and coffee beans shipped to cooperatives in southern Minas Gerais have begun to be placed in silos outside warehouses to meet demand. Because the waiting time is too long, truck drivers need to charge double when transporting coffee beans.

Country: Brazil

Region: South Minas

Altitude: 1000 meters

Variety: Red Bourbon

Process: Semi-washed

Flavor: Nuts, chocolate, cream, peanut, caramel

Brazilian Coffee Producing Regions Brazil is located in the Latin American region of the Western Hemisphere, in the east of South America on the western shore of the Atlantic Ocean. On land, except for Ecuador and Chile, it borders all countries on the South American continent; the vast majority of its territory lies between the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn, making it the country with the widest tropical range in the world. One-third of its territory has a tropical rainforest climate, and two-thirds has a tropical savanna climate. The superior tropical natural conditions are very suitable for the growth and production of tropical cash crops such as coffee.

This "Front Street Brazil Daily Bean" from Front Street comes from Minas Gerais state. The representative coffee-producing regions of Minas Gerais are Cerrado and South Minas, both of which are higher-altitude areas. Cerrado is located in the west of Minas Gerais state and is a flat plateau with an altitude of 750m-1200m. South Minas is a hilly area with an altitude of 700m-1200m. Since 1999, among the estates that have won in Brazil's Cup of Excellence auction events, South Minas has had the most.

Coffee Variety — Red Bourbon

Bourbon coffee was first planted on Réunion Island, which was also called Bourbon Island (le Bourbon) before 1789. Bourbon is a secondary species produced by a mutation of Typica. Together with Typica, it is one of the oldest existing coffee varieties. Its green fruit turns bright red when ripe. For Red Bourbon, after the coffee tree flowers and bears fruit, the color of the coffee cherry changes as follows: green > slightly yellow > slightly orange > ripe red > then darker, more mature red. Therefore, some people call it [Red Bourbon]. In fact, Red Bourbon is what we generally call Bourbon. Bourbon planted at high altitudes usually has better aroma, while its acidity is relatively bright, and it can even taste somewhat like red wine. To put it more plainly, Bourbon is a coffee tree species belonging to a branch of the Arabica species. It generally bears red fruit and is called Red Bourbon. In addition, there are also Yellow Bourbon and Orange Bourbon. Yellow Bourbon has relatively lower yield, but better quality.

Coffee Bean Processing Method — Semi-Washed Process

The semi-washed process is also called the pulped natural process. Unlike the traditional natural process, semi-washed removes the skin and pulp of the coffee cherry, allowing control over the fermentation degree of the mucilage-covered coffee beans after pulping. The traditional natural process dries the cherries with skin and pulp, making it impossible to see the fermentation degree of the mucilage. The semi-washed process is a method between the natural and washed processes, but it omits the washed process's "tank fermentation and clean water rinsing" steps, and instead directly puts the beans in the sun to dry. Although the methods may seem similar, without the fermentation step, the flavor of the coffee beans is completely different.

Front Street Coffee Roasting Analysis Roasting Machine Yangjia 600g Semi-Direct Fire

Brazilian coffee generally grows at an altitude of 1000-1300 meters, so its density is relatively low, its moisture content is moderate, the bean texture is relatively soft, and the thickness from bean surface to bean core is relatively thin. Therefore, it is not suitable to roast at too high a temperature, as this will produce burnt and bitter flavors. We choose to drop the beans at medium heat, maintaining the heat until the dehydration stage. After first crack begins, fine-tune as the temperature rises to promote a more complete caramelization reaction. This Front Street Brazil semi-washed coffee bean rises slowly in temperature after first crack, and can be dropped when approaching second crack. Preheat the roaster to 200°C and load the beans. Set the damper to 3. After 30 seconds, turn on the heat and adjust the heat to 160. Keep the damper unchanged. The turning point is at 1'30. Maintain the heat. At 5'00, the beans turn yellow, the grassy smell disappears, and the dehydration stage begins. Lower the heat to 130 and open the damper to 4. At 168°C, lower the heat again to 100. At 8'00, dehydration is complete. The bean surface shows wrinkles and dark streaks, and the toast aroma turns into coffee aroma, which is the prelude to first crack. At this time, pay attention to listen for the sound of first crack. At 8'50, first crack begins, and open the damper fully to 5. The development time after first crack is 3 minutes 10 seconds. At 190°C, lower the heat to 50. At 194°C, lower it again to 30. Drop the beans at about 200°C.

Front Street Brewing Suggestions for Front Street Brazil Red Bourbon

Dripper: V60

Dose: 15g coffee

Water temperature: 90°C

Grind size: 80% passing through a No. 20 standard sieve

Water-to-coffee ratio: 1:15

Front Street uses staged extraction. The amount of water for blooming is twice the coffee grounds, that is, 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom. Pour in a small stream in circles until 125 grams, then pause. When the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 225 grams and stop. The total extraction time is 2 minutes.

[Front Street Brazil Red Bourbon] Brewing flavor: high sweetness, clean, smooth, low acidity, with tropical fruit aroma.

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.