Brazil produces enormous quantities of coffee using a daunting variety of processing methods and botanical varieties. It is probably safe to divide Brazil’s coffees into three very broad categories.

The first category would be commercial coffees, which inlcude cheap, mass produced arabica coffees that are strip-picked and dried on vast patios, plus the smaller quantities of robusta species coffee grown in Brazil. Home roasters can feel safe in dismissing these coffees from their collections.

The second category are the best Santos-style commercially traded coffees. These coffees, usually described in the trade as Santos 2/3, good to fine cup, which have been picked and dry processed with more care than the previously mentioned lower grades and which are extremely usefull in blending, particularly for espresso. These are usually medium to full -bodied, sweet, round but heartier than similar wet-processed coffees from other coffee origins.

Finally, the true Brazilian Specialty coffees, our last category, which are sold by estate name and by processing method, which can range from wet-processed or washed that are light, bright and gentle, to dry-processed or natural coffees that are rounder and fuller, to the often extraordinary semi-dry-processed or pulped cherry coffees, which may glisten with subtle fruit and floral notes riding a delicate sweetness. As elsewhere in Latin America, trees of the traditional Bourbon variety produce the most sought after and usually complex lots of coffee, but other selected varieties like Mundo Novo and Catuai also produce outstanding cup quality.