Why is the arabica bean from Brazil used in blends?

Brazilian Arabica beans are the base of most espresso blend recipes because the country is a major global producer and its harvest moves world prices. In its most abundant years Brazil supplies more than 30 percent of the world's Arabica coffee bean output, and the New York Intercontinental Exchange tracks that volume when setting futures prices. The flavor is nutty, sweet and low in acidity, which balances brighter beans.

Recent seasons have tightened supply. Extreme weather linked to the greenhouse effect cut Brazil's Arabica output, a weaker US dollar squeezed farmer margins, high oil prices pushed some growers toward corn for renewable energy, and domestic coffee consumption kept rising. Most Brazilian beans are processed semi-washed. Front Street lists two single-origin options, Cerrado and Queen Farm, and suggests the Kono dripper for three-stage brewing.

In espresso blend recipes, coffee beans from Brazil are almost never absent. Why can they become the base bean in blends? This article, from the perspective of Front Street Coffee, systematically reviews the production status of Brazilian Arabica beans, the impact of futures prices, the flavor characteristics brought by growing altitude and terrain, and the unique semi-washed processing method; it also introduces two Brazilian single-origin coffees on Front Street's bean list—Cerrado and Queen Farm—and gives specific parameters for the three-stage brewing with the Kono dripper, helping coffee lovers fully understand the flavor logic and practical methods of Brazilian beans.

Have you noticed? Most espresso blend coffee beans on the market often include a Brazilian coffee bean. Why can Brazilian beans become the foundational component in blend recipes? Next, Front Street Coffee will introduce the characteristics of Brazilian coffee beans.

Brazil is a major producer of Arabica coffee beans globally. The scale of the country's Arabica harvest directly affects the trend of global Arabica green coffee futures prices. Data shows that in the years when Brazil's coffee harvest is most abundant, its output can account for more than 30% of the world's total Arabica coffee bean production.

However, in recent years, Brazil's coffee production situation has not been optimistic. Extreme weather caused by the greenhouse effect has significantly reduced Brazil's Arabica bean production, the weakening US dollar has squeezed coffee farmers' profit margins, and soaring oil prices have prompted many local growers to switch to corn for renewable energy; combined with the impact of the global pandemic, Brazil's domestic coffee consumption has continued to rise. Under the combination of multiple factors, Brazilian coffee beans have fallen into a situation of "supply falling short of demand."

The level of Arabica coffee futures prices depends on the Arabica coffee bean inventory at the New York Intercontinental Exchange. As the largest inventory supplier, Brazil's supply volume has always been a key variable affecting the rise and fall of coffee futures prices.

Generally speaking, the higher the altitude at which coffee beans grow, the greater the temperature difference between day and night. The growth rhythm of coffee then slows down, and the beans have more ample time to develop a sturdier "physique." The density of the beans is enhanced, and the flavor layers become richer.

Compared with other coffee-producing countries in Central and South America, Brazil's coffee-growing altitude is noticeably lower. In addition, the terrain is flat, there is a lack of microclimates, and coffee trees are not shade-grown during cultivation.

For this reason, Brazilian coffee beans have a softer bean texture, and their aroma performance is not as rich as that of other producing regions. Generally speaking, Brazilian beans have lower acidity; high-quality Brazilian beans present a nutty, chocolate-like sweet aroma, with balanced acidity and bitterness and a satisfying body; lower-quality Brazilian beans, however, tend to carry woody and earthy flavors.

The most common processing methods for coffee are nothing more than natural and washed. Brazil initially mainly used the natural processing method, but in order to improve bean quality, Brazil developed the semi-washed processing method in 1990. As early as the mid-18th century, the Dutch had already used the washed method to process coffee, but the washed method consumes a huge amount of water, which is not realistic in Brazil.

The so-called Brazilian-style semi-washed method is to first pass the coffee cherries through a water tank to remove defective beans and floating cherries, then remove the skin, pulp, and part of the mucilage layer, and then wash them for one hour. Because the soaking and fermentation time is very short, the pectin is not easily completely washed off, and pectin remains on the parchment. At this point, the sticky parchment beans are spread out on a drying yard to dry, preferably using African raised beds with good breathability.

Seeing this, some friends may ask Front Street: Isn't this similar to the washed processing method? Front Street will explain it this way: That's right, Brazilian semi-washed is indeed very similar to washed processing. The difference is that its soaking time is much shorter than that of washed processing, so a portion of the pectin is retained, and then it enters the natural drying stage.

Compared with traditional washed processing, this method saves a large amount of water, reduces resource costs, and also reverses the poor quality caused by Brazil's extensive natural drying. Because the skin and pulp have already been removed, the sun-drying time is greatly shortened, and the chances of over-fermentation, mildew, and infection are also reduced. It can be said that the semi-washed processing method is a unique creation by Brazil adapted to local conditions.

On Front Street's bean list, there are a total of 2 single-origin coffee beans from Brazil, namely Front Street Brazil Cerrado coffee beans and Front Street Brazil Queen Farm coffee beans. The former is intended to let everyone taste the basic flavor of the Brazilian origin, with obvious roasted peanut, caramel, and chocolate flavors, and a balanced mouthfeel.

The other one comes from Queen Farm in the Mogiana region beside South Minas, at an altitude of 1400-1950m. In this area there are many growing families, some of which use the traditional large-farm operating model, while others adopt small-scale modern operations. Modern technology mixed with mountain coffee-growing culture has created the highest-quality green coffee beans.

Through cupping, Front Street found that the coffee beans produced in this area have a clear sweetness like sucrose. After medium-dark roasting by Front Street Coffee, the Brazil Queen Farm coffee flavor shows the aroma of mixed roasted nuts, a full and smooth peanut butter-like texture, and a clear sweetness like brown sugar.

One is coffee beans from the Cerrado region at an altitude of 1000 meters. The Cerrado region begins in Mato Grosso in southwestern Brazil, passes through the central-west of Minas, and reaches the western part of Bahia in the north. The Cerrado coffee region referred to by Front Street is not the entire Cerrado savanna, but only the coffee-growing area in the central-west of Minas at an altitude above 1000 meters can truly be called the Cerrado coffee region.

This area is the essence of the Cerrado savanna. With high altitude and fertile soil, only then can specialty coffee beans with clear sweetness, high body, and high cleanliness be grown. After medium-dark roasting by Front Street Coffee, the Brazil Cerrado coffee flavor shows nuts, peanuts, creamy smoothness, cocoa, and caramel.

How should Brazilian coffee beans be brewed?

Front Street Coffee stores usually use the Kono dripper for brewing. What makes this dripper different from the V60 is that the ribs of the Kono dripper extend only to 1/3 of the dripper, with 2/3 in a smooth state. When the filter paper fits completely against the dripper, air cannot pass through the dripper, because the brewing process slows down the speed at which water passes through, thereby achieving an immersion effect, and the coffee's performance will also be fuller and richer.

Because the dripper itself has the effect of improving extraction, for grinding, Front Street Coffee recommends using medium-coarse grinding (70% passing rate with China No. 20 standard sieve), using a water temperature of 88-89°C, and brewing at a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15.

Front Street uses three-stage extraction: start the timer, use 30 grams of water for blooming for 30 seconds, then pour in a small stream in circles until 125 grams, pause, and when the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 225 grams and stop (timing starts from the beginning of blooming). The extraction time is 2 minutes.

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