How do coffee bean grades work in Brazil's Cerrado region?

Brazil grades coffee differently from Kenya AA or Yirgacheffe G1. On burlap sacks, NY.2 stands for a New York-style classification with a set number of defects, SC-17/18 gives screen size, and FC means fine cup. The Cerrado region, in Brazil's vast producing interior, has become a classic source of specialty-grade Brazilian coffee sold under these labels.

Brazil has ranked first in coffee production since 1960, and Conab reported total output of 46.88 million 60-kg bags in 2021 even after drought and frost cut yields. Coffee first arrived when Francisco de Melo Palheta carried seeds hidden in a bouquet from French Guiana, and trees spread southward, with plantings established by the 1830s. Cup quality and coffee beans origin still guide grading today.

As the world's largest coffee-producing country, Brazil's coffee bean grading system is completely different from common systems like Kenya AA and Yirgacheffe G1. What exactly do NY.2 SC-17/18 FC on the burlap sacks represent? Why has the Cerrado region become a classic representative of Brazilian specialty coffee? From the perspective of Front Street, this article traces the historical development of Brazilian coffee, its producing regions, and the logic behind green bean grading, and provides a detailed introduction to the brewing method and flavor profile of Front Street's Brazilian Red Bourbon semi-washed beans in the house blend series, giving you a systematic understanding of the unique charm of this major South American coffee country.

Recently, reports on coffee market prices have frequently appeared in the public eye, and these news stories almost always mention the same country—Brazil. Since 1960, Brazil's coffee production has consistently ranked first in the world. When Front Street was gathering coffee output data from various countries, we noted that Conab, the Brazilian government's food supply and statistics agency, reported Brazil's total coffee bean production in 2021 as 46.88 million bags (60 kg per bag), and this figure was already the result after Brazil suffered a once-in-a-century drought and severe frost in producing regions that substantially reduced output.

History of Brazilian Coffee

When Front Street was reviewing materials on the history of coffee propagation, we found that although Brazil now consistently tops the world in coffee production, about three hundred years ago not a single coffee tree could be found on this land. Brazil's ability to achieve its current success in the coffee industry is thanks to a Portuguese military officer named Francisco de Melo Palheta. During a diplomatic mission to French Guiana, this officer became acquainted with the local governor's wife, and the two actually developed romantic feelings. When the Portuguese officer was preparing to return to Brazil, the governor's wife gave him a bouquet of flowers, in which coffee seeds were hidden. After returning to Brazil, the officer planted the seeds. Thanks to Brazil's climate conditions being highly suitable for coffee plant growth, the coffee trees adapted to the local environment in a very short time and spread southward.

By the 1830s, Brazil's coffee bean production already accounted for 30% of the global total; by the 1840s, this proportion climbed to 40%. Around the 1920s, Brazil's coffee production even accounted for 80% of global output. At that time, Brazil's main coffee export destination was the United States to the north, but with the arrival of the Great Depression, Brazilian coffee prices plummeted by nearly 90%. As Americans could no longer afford to import Brazilian coffee, coffee stocks in Brazilian warehouses swelled dramatically and prices continued to fall. To stabilize the coffee price market, Brazilian authorities ultimately decided to burn billions of pounds of coffee beans.

Brazilian Coffee Bean Grades

Labels like Kenya AA, Yirgacheffe G1, and Blue Mountain No. 1 are often seen on the market. Front Street has mentioned in several origin-related articles that these are ways producing countries express green coffee bean grades. So why have you never seen something like Brazil AA? The reason is that Brazil's coffee bean grading system differs from the above origins. Friends who visit Front Street's shop can easily find the "ID card" of Brazilian green coffee beans.

On burlap sacks of Brazilian green coffee beans, you can often see words like "Brazil NY.2 SC – 17/18 FC." To understand this information, it needs to be broken down into three parts. They correspond respectively to the green beans' defect rate, bean size, and cup quality.

[Defect Rate]

The defect rate is divided into 8 levels.

[Bean Size]

Green beans are screened using screens based on 1/64 inch, with screen sizes typically ranging from 14 mesh to 20 mesh.

[Cup Quality]

It is divided into several levels: Fine Cup, Fine, Good Cup, Fair Cup, Poor Cup, and Bad Cup. Generally speaking, Fine Cup (FC) and Good Cup (GC) are the most common.

Brazilian Coffee Producing Regions

Brazil's coffee-growing areas are mostly located in plains. The plains are vast, situated in a temperate climate zone with suitable temperature conditions. Coffee producing regions are mainly distributed in: Bahia, Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, Espirito Santo, and Parana.

[Bahia]

The Bahia producing region began growing coffee as early as the 1970s. Unlike Colombia, which relies on superior natural conditions, Bahia relies on high-tech agricultural techniques and quality coffee varieties, and its coffee is gaining more and more attention.

[Minas Gerais]

This producing region is by far Brazil's most important coffee producing region, with nearly half of Brazil's coffee coming from Minas Gerais. With fertile soil and higher altitude, it is an ideal growing area for Brazilian specialty coffee. The Cerrado within this state is even more of a classic Brazilian coffee producing region, and the characteristics of Brazilian Cerrado coffee beans also represent the classic taste of Brazilian coffee. Front Street's house blend series includes a bean from Cerrado to present Brazil's main flavors.

To help friends new to coffee quickly find their favorite producing region, Front Street's house blend series selects representative beans from various distinctive producing regions. And to let everyone better experience the most basic terroir characteristics of each region, Front Street's house blend beans all use washed processing when selected—except Brazil, which is semi-washed. This is because the semi-washed processing method is the traditional processing method for Brazilian coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee: Brazilian Red Bourbon Coffee Beans

Region: Cerrado, Brazil

Altitude: 1000m

Variety: Red Bourbon

Processing Method: Semi-washed

[Sao Paulo]

Sao Paulo is probably better known for its export port, Santos Port, but Sao Paulo is also a coffee-growing region. The Mogiana region in this state also has the conditions to produce high-quality specialty coffee, with fertile soil, ideal altitude (900 to 1100 meters), complex terrain, and suitable temperatures.

[Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul]

This producing region has relatively low coffee production. Although the terrain is higher, the average altitude is only about 600 meters and the land is flat, which cannot meet Arabica's 1200-meter growing altitude requirement, making it more suitable for developing animal husbandry.

[Espirito Santo]

Espirito Santo is Brazil's second-highest coffee producing region. Nearly 80% of the coffee plants here belong to the Robusta species. Coffee from this region has rich fruit flavors and higher acidity.

[Parana]

The Parana producing region is the world's southernmost coffee producing region. Parana accounts for only 2.5% of Brazil's land area but contributes 25% of Brazil's crops. The altitude here is relatively low and the climate is relatively cool.

How to Brew Brazilian Coffee?

The Brazilian coffee beans on Front Street's menu are medium-dark roasted, highlighting aroma while possessing a certain body. Front Street's baristas use a KONO dripper when brewing Brazilian coffee beans because its slower flow rate allows the coffee grounds and water to fully contact.

Dripper: KONO dripper

Dose: 15 grams

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Water temperature: 88°C

Grind size: EK43s #10.5 (75% passing rate on China standard No. 20 sieve)

Front Street's baristas use a three-stage pouring method to make the final cup more layered and complex.

First pour 30 grams of water and bloom for 30 seconds. Since Front Street's Brazilian coffee beans are medium-dark roasted and freshly roasted within 5 days, you can see a beautiful blooming "hamburger." Then pour the second stage of water up to 125 grams to divide the stages. When the water level drops to the point where the coffee bed is about to be exposed, pour the third stage up to 225 grams and stop. Wait for the water in the dripper to fully drip through, then remove the dripper. Total extraction time is 2 minutes 00 seconds.

When pouring the third stage, note that if the water level is higher than the coffee bed on the dripper wall, some water will flow down along the edge of the dripper, and the final cup will have a "watery" taste. If the water level is too low, some coffee ground particles will not participate in extraction, and the final cup will taste relatively weak.

This Red Bourbon from the Cerrado region at Front Street has the classic Brazilian coffee flavor. Because Brazilian coffee cultivation uses the sun-dried method, the coffee cherries ripen quickly, forming a soft bean flavor. When brewing, you can smell peanut and nut aromas. It is very smooth and comfortable on the palate, with low acidity, caramel sweetness, and a black chocolate-toned finish.

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