As the country with the largest coffee production in the world, Brazil has vast planting areas and abundant variety resources. This article focuses on the red bourbon coffee beans from the Cerrado region of Brazil. Starting from the history of coffee's introduction to Brazil, it systematically introduces the botanical characteristics of the bourbon variety, the fruit color changes of red bourbon, the geography and processing methods of the Cerrado region, and provides detailed explanations of Front Street Coffee's roasting curve and brewing suggestions for this bean. By reading this article, you will understand why red bourbon often exhibits nutty, chocolate, creamy, and caramel flavors, as well as the practical significance of the semi-washed method in Brazilian coffee processing.

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Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer, with coffee cultivation areas widely distributed, and a total of 17 states across the country producing coffee. At the same time, the coffee varieties planted in Brazil are quite diverse, currently mainly red bourbon, yellow bourbon, Mundo Novo, and Catuai. As the world's largest coffee producer, FrontStreet Coffee will next sort out the production context and quality characteristics of Brazilian coffee for you.

Coffee was introduced to Brazil from French Guiana in 1727. At that time, Portuguese diplomat Francisco de Melo Palheta was sent to French Guiana to mediate territorial disputes. During this period, he won the favor of the governor's wife, who hid a few coffee seeds in a bouquet given to him, and Francisco successfully brought the coffee seeds to Brazil.

Bourbon Variety

Bourbon, like Typica, is an old variety with a long history, and both belong to the Arabica species. Bourbon coffee was first planted on Réunion Island, which was also called Bourbon Island (le Bourbon) before 1789, and the variety name comes from this.

Although both are old varieties, Bourbon and Typica still differ: Bourbon has wider leaves than Typica, grows more densely, and yields about 30% more than Typica. Its beans are relatively round and short, with a berry-like acidity, a full body, outstanding creaminess and aroma, and noticeable fruit acidity; however, it also has the shortcoming of relatively weak disease resistance.

After flowering and fruiting, the coffee tree of red bourbon undergoes a series of changes in fruit color: green, slightly yellow, slightly orange, mature red, and finally turning to a riper dark red, which is why some call it "red bourbon." Red bourbon was introduced to Brazil around 1860 via Campinas in the south and is a highly representative coffee tree variety.

In simple terms, Bourbon is a branch under the Arabica species. Those that usually bear red fruit are called red bourbon, and there are also yellow bourbon and orange bourbon. In comparison, yellow bourbon has lower yield but often better quality.

South Minas Region of Brazil

South Minas is located in a hilly area at an altitude of 700 to 1,200 meters and is the earliest coffee production region in Brazil. Due to rising labor costs, most of the region now uses mechanical harvesting. It is also the earliest area for coffee commercialization, and many large exporters have established bases here. The Bahia region in northern Brazil mainly produces washed Brazilian beans, while the Espirito Santo region near the coast is the main export area for Brazil's robusta varieties.

Brazil's coffee planting terrain is mainly divided into two types: the Brazilian Highlands above 500 meters in altitude and the Brazilian Plains below 200 meters in altitude. The well-known varieties are mainly the Bourbon line (including yellow bourbon, red bourbon, and flat bean Santos). The taste of Brazilian coffee is usually expressed as low acidity, nutty flavors, balance, and moderate body. In the specialty coffee field, Brazilian coffee is not particularly outstanding, but it is often used in espresso blends. Because of its high balance, it is also often used by merchants as the raw material for "Blue Mountain flavor beans."

Cerrado / CerradoMineiro

Growing coffee in the Cerrado (also known as Savanna) can be called a victory for Brazilian coffee technology. More and more large coffee plantations in the area use high-tech means for production, which is not often seen in other regions. The plateau climate has four distinct seasons, the fruit ripens steadily, and there is completely no rainfall trouble during the harvest season. Cerrado coffee usually uses the natural process, which is also a current trend in processing methods.

FrontStreet Coffee: Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon Coffee Beans Country: Brazil Region: Cerrado Altitude: 1,000 meters Variety: Red Bourbon Processing Method: Semi-washed Flavor: Nuts, chocolate, cream, peanut, caramel

Processing Method: Semi-washed

After picking, the coffee cherries first pass through a water tank to remove immature fruits and foreign matter, then the outer skin and part of the pulp are removed, and then the mucilage is removed with a demucilager. Removing the mucilage helps shorten the time required for sun drying and reduces the risk of fermentation. This method is mostly used when climatic conditions are not ideal. If the air humidity is high, the climate is warm, or there is rainfall, mildew is likely to occur during the drying process. Therefore, most washed beans used for commercial trade in Brazil are processed by the semi-washed method.

Brazilian Coffee Bean Grades

Brazilian coffee beans are graded by defect rate using the "deduction method," classifying grades by the number of defective beans in every 300 grams of main beans, divided into seven levels from No.2 to No.8. A deduction below 4 can be classified as No.2. Of course, completely free of defective beans can be called No.1, but this situation is extremely rare and cannot maintain a stable supply, so Brazil sets No.2 as the highest grade rather than No.1.

The method of classifying by coffee bean size in screen mesh is: screening with a mesh screen based on 1/64 inch, and the screen size is usually between 14 and 20. It should be noted that the mesh number corresponds to the short side of the coffee bean, that is, the "width." The largest mesh number of Brazilian coffee beans is 19, but the output is not much, so 17/18 is the highest grade.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Analysis

This Brazilian red bourbon uses a medium-dark roast to highlight the full body of Brazilian coffee, as well as the rich nutty, cocoa, and peanut flavors.

When the roaster temperature rises to 175°C, charge the beans, set the heat to 140, open the damper to 3. The turning point appears at 1 minute 36 seconds, at a temperature of 95.6. When the roaster temperature reaches 140°C, open the damper to 4; when the roaster temperature rises to 166°C, adjust the heat to 130, and keep the damper unchanged; when the roaster temperature rises to 176°C, adjust the heat to 110, and keep the damper unchanged; when the roaster temperature rises to 192°C, adjust the heat to 70, and set the damper to 5.

At 9 minutes 45 seconds, ugly wrinkles and dark spots appear on the bean surface, and the toast smell clearly turns into coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, you need to listen clearly for the sound of the first crack point. At 10 minutes 51 seconds, first crack begins, open the damper to 5, develop for 2 minutes after first crack, and drop the beans at 201.5°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Suggestions

For the nutty aroma unique to Brazil Cerrado, Front Street generally uses the pour-over form for production. However, considering that many office workers do not have free time to weigh parameters, drip bag coffee is the best choice.

First, we need to prepare a container for the coffee, a kettle for pouring water, and enough boiling hot water. A sharing pot or drinking cup will both work.

Tear open the sealed package, take out the coffee drip bag, and tear open the non-woven pocket along the dotted line above. Pull open the two ears, spread the entire drip bag open, and then hang it on the edge of the cup or sharing pot.

In the first stage, first wet all the coffee grounds, and let it bloom for about 10 to 20 seconds. In the second stage, pour steadily in a small stream until the liquid level is nearly full, then wait for the coffee liquid to drop until it has flowed out completely. Pour the final stage of water until full, wait for all the coffee liquid to finish dripping, gently shake to mix evenly, and then it is ready to enjoy.

Dose: 15g Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15 Water temperature: 88°C Grind size: medium-coarse grind (70% passing a No.20 standard sieve) Dripper: kono

1. Pour 30 grams of water in the first stage and bloom for 30 seconds.

2. After blooming ends, pour the second stage of water, circling outward from the center for 100 grams. This stage of pouring can be done slowly. Geisha coffee is very resistant to extraction and needs a certain pouring time to bring out the aroma. After pouring, wait for the water level to drop to half.

3. When the coffee bed is about to be exposed, pour the third stage of water, 95 grams, for a total poured water amount of 225 grams. Wait for the coffee to finish filtering, then remove the dripper. The total brewing time is 1 minute 52 seconds.

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