Brazil Santos

Coffee was introduced in Brazil by Francisco de Mello Palheta in 1727 from Cayenne, French Guiana. Today, Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer. Coffee is grown in the states of Parana, Espirito , Santos, Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Bahia. The vast majority of farms in Brazil are less than ten hectares in size. According to the Brazilian government, 71% of farms are less than 10 hectares, 25% of farms had less than 50 hectares, and only 4% of farms were larger than 50 hectares. Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer and produces around 25% of the world's supply of coffee. Eighty percent of this is Arabica.

Processing

Brazil processes its coffee by the wet (washed), dry (natural), and semi-washed (pulped natural) methods. The vast majority of coffees are still processed via the dry method since Brazil is one of the few countries in the world that has the appropriate weather to do so successfully.

Dry-Process: Dry-processed (Naturally processed) coffees are dried while they are still in the cherry. Prior to drying only cherries that float will be removed. Since the coffees are dried in contact with the cherry pulp, the coffee will be heavy in body, sweet, smooth, and complex. This coffee is also one of the most complex to deal with do to the long drying times and possibility of fermentation. However, since dry-processed coffees are more difficult, Brazil has invested significant time and money to developing new drying systems and drying practices to prevent fermentation.

Wet-Process: Wet-processing coffees is a relatively new method of removing the four layers surrounding the coffee bean. This process results in a coffee that is cleaner, brighter, and fruitier. Wet processing is done in a relatively small proportion to dry-processing in Brazil, but offers another cleaner and brighter dimension to Brazilian coffees.

Pulped Natural: The pulped natural method consists of pulping a coffee, but emitting the fermentation stage to remove the silverskin. This results in a beverage that has characteristics of both a dry- and wet-processed coffee. It is often sweeter than wet-processed coffees, has some of the body of a dry-processed coffee, but also retains some of the acidity of a wet-processed coffee. This type of processing can only occur in countries where the humidity is low and the coffee covered in the cherry pulp can be dried rapidly without fermenting. Brazil has made this method famous and produces some of the best pulped-natural coffees in the world.

As in other countries the most significant player in flavor profile is the processing method. After this more subtle nuances due to regional characteristics can take over. There are several distinct regions in Brazil, each large enough to be their own country and distinct enough to be considered so.