Coffee and Brazil

Everyone loves a good cup of coffee---or one of the many cream-and-sugar loaded spinoffs that have emerged in the past 100 years.  In spite of the many new variations, a good old fashioned cup of Java is still a hit, and both its history and modern production are very interesting to read.  In this article, we will be exploring the trail of the coffee bean, as it winds through Brazil.

All coffee is produced from members of the genus Coffea, and there are actually several species that can be harvested for the stimulating drink.  Almost all the world's commercial coffee is produced, however, from only two trees, C. Arabica and C. canephora.  Both are indigenous to Africa, with the Arabian coffee tree actually being native to Ethiopia and  the Robusta coffee tree being native to central and western Sub-Saharan.  These are important facts, because as it turns out, coffee of both varieties grows well in Brazil, thanks to its tropic climate and varied terrain.

Coffee became important in Europe about the time of the renaissance, and the bean came with colonists and nobles who came to Brazil to seek their fortunes.  Since coffee was already a commodity in Europe, it was a desirable cash crop, and it has always been planted more for export than domestic consumption.  There has always been the poor peasant family who planted a few trees for money, but the Brazilian coffee industry was truly built by the money of plantation owners.  Some made a fortune, and some imported slaves.

Today, Brazilian coffee is grown mostly by farmers, and most farms are no larger than ten hectares. Many common people are responsible for growing coffee, and the wealthy investors have largely moved to more modern pursuits.  Regardless of the economics, Brazil is the largest coffee exporting country, with a twenty-five percent global market share.  It exported two and a half million tones of the bean in 2009, compared to a little under a million tons for the runner up, Vietnam.  It grows both commercial varieties, and both are highly rated, coming from this country.

Why is coffee from brazil so successful? Blame it all on the climate.  As mentioned, Brazil is a tropical country, but it also has mountains in the West.  Its southern reaches are further from the equator, and so are more moderate.  Arabian coffee, the most popular variety, prefers cooler weather and a higher altitude than its caffeine-rich cousin.  C. canephora, on the other hand, is a stronger coffee, and it is often mixed in commercial coffee both to reduce the cost and enhance its flavor.  Everywhere in Brazil, there is a coffee bean to grow.

Brazil is also favorable to the natural drying of coffee beans.  In order to prepare the seed of the coffee cherry for harvest, the fruit must be removed, then bathed to remove the scummy residue on the coffee bean.  Afterwards, it must be promptly dried or the seed will ferment and become unsuitable for consumption.  In some countries, the beans are fed into a hot-air warehouse, and basically dehydrated like in a giant clothes drier.  In Brazil, it is possible to leave the beans thinly scattered over a table, and the natural climate will dry them.  This traditional method is considered superior and enhances flavor.

A current situation in the coffee industry as a whole is the environmental practice of raising coffee trees.  The old method is to give the tree partial shade under a larger tree, and this tends to reduce both pests.  The lack of full sunlight causes the cherries to grow more slowly.  Full sunlight causes the plants to grow faster if fertilized.  Shaded coffee trees do not need fertilizer, and and chemically grown trees need more pesticide.   The traditional method is more earth-friendly, and often produces a superior bean.  On the other hand, some farmers want to increase their yields.  Both methods are used in Brazil, and there is an ongoing dialogue about which method is the best.