All coffee lovers will tell you that in order to understand what make up the heavy, syrup body with a hint of milk chocolate, tobacco and nutty flavours in Brazil coffee, you will have to go back to history just to know more about the background about Brazilian coffee.
Brazil produces about a third of all coffee, making it by far the world’s largest producer, a position the country has held for over 150 years. They have coffee plantations covering around 27000 square kilometres which are located in the south-eastern states of Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo and Parana where there is a conducive climate for coffee. Around the 1920s Brazil was supplying 80% of the world’s coffee but that figure has declined due to increase in global production.
The first coffee bush in Brazil was planted by Francisco de Melo Palheta in Para in 1972. According to the legend, it is said the Portuguese were looking for a cut of the coffee market but had difficulties in obtaining seeds from bordering French Guiana because the governor was unwilling to export the seeds. Palheta then went to French Guiana on a diplomatic mission to resolve a border dispute and on his way back home he managed to smuggle the seeds into Brazil by seducing the governor’s wife who secretly gave him a bouquet spiked with the holy seeds. From Para, coffee began to spread and reached Janeiro in 1770 and it was only produced for local consumption until the early 19th century when America and European demand increased, creating the first of the two coffee booms. Coffee production continued to grow at a tremendous rate that by the 1830s coffee had become Brazil’s largest export. The second boom from the1880s to 1930s resulted in an extremely high demand and increased production and a railway system was built to haul the coffee beans to market. This also provided essential internal transportation for both freight and passengers, as well as developing a large skilled labour force. The growing of coffee industry attracted millions of immigrants and transformed Sao Paulo from a small town to the largest industrial centre in the developing country.
Brazil coffee has, undoubtedly, a rich history owing to its rich flavours that it comes with. At RYO Coffee we sell the best coffee beans straight from Brazil, transported in Grain Pro bags to maintain flavour and freshness, and it is a sin not to taste our various flavours of the popular beverage.