A little about Brazil as an origin for coffee. 

The first coffee planted in Brazil was by Francisco de Melo Palheta in the north of the country. The legend says that in 1727 Palheta who was the lieutenant-Colonel in the Brazilian army, was sent to French Guiana in a diplomatic mission, once there he asked the Colonial Governor for a sample of a coffee plant, but he refused as he wanted to keep the monopoly France had on coffee plants in the Americas. So, Palheta seduced the wife of the governor and she gifted him on his departure back to Brazil a bouquet of flowers with a hidden coffee seed. The rest is history. 

In just a century, Brazil established itself as the largest producer of coffee in the world. In the 1830s, coffee became Brazil’s largest export and accounted for 30% of global production. Within a decade, Brazil had become the largest coffee producer in the world and produced 40% of total coffee grown worldwide, around 3.7 million metric tons annually. Brazil produces everything form Robusta and lower quality arabicas to great speciality coffee grade. 

Due to Brazil’s significant share in global production, any changes in annual harvest size can drastically impact world coffee prices. When Brazil produces a large harvest, oversupply can drive coffee prices down. Similarly, when Brazilian harvests are unusually low—such as in years when severe frosts kill many coffee trees—global prices can increase due to a lack of supply to match global consumption. Brazil is the only country amongst the big coffee producers vulnerable to severe frosts. The impacts of severe frosts which tend to happen every 5/6 years has a huge impact because these frosts kill the entire tree. After a severe frost, the trees impacted by frost will have to be pruned or replanted, leading to reduced yield and loss of production for around of 2 to 4 years.

The taste profile of Brazilian coffees tends to be low in acidity, sweet and heavy in body with nutty and chocolate notes.