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Brazil is the largest consumer per capita of coffee

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Brazil’s national flag needs explanation.   The national flag of Brazil known as the Bandeira do Brasil in Portuguese, Portuguese being the national language. In the centre is a representation for the  starry sky including the Southern Cross. A banner across the sky is inscribed with the national motto "Ordem e Progresso" ("Order and Progress"), this being set on a yellow rhombus on a green field. The yellow and green pay homage to the previous Imperial flag

But back to coffee, Brazil is the largest producer in the world and as expected has the highest per capita consumption of 22 250 000 bags. Locals drink almost 80 litres each a year.  Brazil exports more the $500 million US of coffee annually, and has been the dominant force in coffee production almost from the start in 1727 when apparently Francisco de Melo Palheta charmed a Lady in French Guana to give him samples of coffee seed which were smuggled into Brazil.

Coffee plantations starting in the North and quickly spreading along the coasts coffee was initially competing with  sugar cane Brazil’s biggest crop. Caribbean sugar production created a sugar glut. Brazil was unable to compete so transitioned to coffee production to satisfy the rapidly increasing global demand and by 1820  Coffee overtook cane sugar as Brazil’s most exported product.

In 20 years by 1840 Brazil had become the largest coffee exporter in the world. The country was transformed and coffee barons now held all the power leading to the proclamation of Brazil as a Republic on the 15th November 1889. Coffee money attracted investments into railway infrastructure, assisted credit expansion and development of banking infrastructure. It was the time of the industrial revolution fuelled with Caffeine.   

As with any transition looking back we see there was a dark side to Brazil’s coffee era – slavery. Although the transition to freedom was slow to start Britain forced the issue leading to the abolition of the slave trade in 1888. A transition that nearly destroyed Brazil’s coffee industry. Brazil in response actively encouraged European workers to come over to farm coffee on Brazilian farms. Fostering Brazil’s status as a multi-cultural nation and establishing stronger links between Brazil and the European nations that consumed its coffee.

The Great Depression (1929) was a challenging time leading to desperate measures even to the extent of burning of thousands of bags of beans that could not find a market. Coffee had however created wealth and industrial progress which laid the foundations for other industries to flourish and  capacity to adapt to changing economic demands..

It took 50 years of struggle both economically and politically, but the coffee industry was not entirely destroyed and Brazil rose again to become the largest producer of coffee in the world. There were a number of challenges along the way including  Brazil’s entry to the International Coffee Agreement (ICA) in1962. This introduced quotas and price-setting that was not always to Brazil’s benefit

In 1989 the ICA failed to reach an agreement on quotas freeing Brazil to expand its market share without the restrictions of quotas. There are now 14 coffee-growing regions with common varietals including Bourbon, Typica, Catura, Catuai Acaia Mundo Novo, and Icatu.

Like Vietnam the principal varieties are Arabica and Robusta, deregulation in the 1990’s allowed the now 300000 growers an opportunity to experiment with many other varietals and there has been an exponential growth in single original single varietals. 

Brazil was always a large producer and in the 1830s produced about 30% of total coffee production rising to 40% to 60%  currently of worldwide production and producing almost three times as much as the second largest producer – Vietnam.

Coffee is consumed 24 hours a day and the word cafezinho meaning small coffee is synonymous as a greeting term. The style of coffee is very hot filtered in a small cup. The Brazilians save the best coffee for export

Of course in Brazil there is a coffee cocktail using espresso coffee, cachaca or rum, condensed milk and a garnish of cinnamon

1/4 cup chilled espresso
2 tablespoons rum or cachaca
2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
Combine in a shaker with ice. Shake well, strain into an ice-filled glass.
Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Any of the Vietnamese beans would be a great accompaniment to Brazilian Cachaca Espresso - Click Here to see our selection

Coffee On

Hugh and Van