A huge country, occupying more than half the area of the South American continent, is famous for its colorful carnivals, magnificent beaches, white pants, and great football players. And the Federative Republic of Brazil ranks first in the world in the supply of coffee to the world market. Every third cup of it drunk on the planet is made from grains grown on the endless plantations of the picturesque ecumene. The Brazil Santos variety is considered one of the best in Brazil and the world. Its classic taste is the standard for quality Arabica coffee. Let's find out how it is created.
Brasil Santos brand and its features
Brazil Santos coffee is the most popular variety in the country, exported to all countries of the world. As befits a national legend, it is shrouded in the fog of romantic stories. Pragmatists believe that Arabica came to Brazil through banal industrial espionage. Thanks to the vast territories, favorable terrain and climate suitable for coffee trees, the Brazilians established production and became world leaders.
Interesting. Brazil is the only country that uses combine harvesters to harvest coffee. There are more than 300 thousand coffee plantations in the country and almost all of them are located on flat plateaus. It is convenient for the equipment to work in such conditions. Of course, the machine damages the trees, but it significantly increases the speed of harvesting.
Romantics believe in a love story, thanks to which the famous Santos coffee appeared in the country. In 1727, a handsome young man returned to his native Brazil from Reunion Island, which is located near Madagascar. It was officer Francisco di Melu-Paglieta. The island belonged to France, the colonel went there on military service. The French jealously guarded the monopoly on the supply of coffee, which they had at that time, and prohibited the export of plant seedlings from their colonies.
But true love knows no prohibitions or boundaries. The wife of the island's governor fell in love with the handsome Brazilian. During a farewell after a whirlwind romance, a woman gave her lover one last gift - an innocent bouquet of flowers. Hidden among them were branches of a coffee tree. So the seedlings set off on their journey to the fertile Brazilian highlands.
Arriving in his hometown-port of Santos, located in the province of Sao Paulo, Francisco hastened to plant branches of a coffee tree. The culture successfully took root and soon ships from the port of Santos carried numerous grains from the fruits of the descendants of the branches of the bouquet of a woman in love to Europe. This variety was named after the city that first met and nurtured the future national treasure of Brazil.
What can I say about the taste?
Brasil santos does not have a luxurious taste or mind-blowing aroma. This is, rather, a strong “middle peasant”, on which entire industries rest. Even though connoisseurs and gourmets consider it simple and understandable, even Italians, not to mention Brazilians, prefer to make their morning cup of coffee from this variety. It is always thick, rich, quite strong and aromatic. As befits the Arabica variety, it has a sour taste; notes of hazelnuts and cocoa are felt in the drink. Santos makes excellent espresso.
The taste of a drink made from Brazil Santos beans is influenced by several factors:
- climatic features of the growing region, the amount of heat and moisture on its territory;
- the quality and characteristics of the soils on which trees are grown;
- the height of the plantation above sea level, the higher it is, the higher the quality of the coffee;
- age of the tree. Large grains from old trees are valued lower than small fruits from young plants under 4 years old;
- method of processing grains, those that are wet processed are higher. Although the dry method is more common in the country.
Interesting facts about Yellow Bourbon coffee
The coffee variety, nicknamed Yellow Bourbon, is recognized as a very rare variety currently grown in Brazil. In addition, Yellow Bourbon is rightfully considered one of the best coffees in the world.
Theoretically, the Yellow Bourbon variety has never been crossed or selected with other coffee varieties. It is believed that Yellow Bourbon is a genetically pure version of Ethiopian coffee varieties that have survived unchanged to this day.
This type of coffee was brought to the island. Bourbon (French Guiana) in 1715 from Yemen, and then brought from there to Brazil. In modern days, Yellow Bourbon grows exclusively in Brazil, as coffee should be - in the highlands of the state of Minas Gerais.
The Yellow Bourbon coffee variety has been cultivated in Brazil since 1859. The uniqueness of this variety is that it has not undergone absolutely any crossing procedures. The rind of Yellow Bourbon coffee berries is thinner than other coffees. Due to this, the sun's rays have a great effect on ripening berries and grains, making them especially sweet.
The variety differs from the usual Arabica in the color of the ripened fruits. As you know, Arabica is red in color, while Yellow Bourbon is yellow in color. Some other coffee varieties have a similar distinctive feature, but they have nothing in common with Bourbon, although they are sold under its guise. The Yellow Bourbon coffee variety has a bright, unique aroma with notes of sweet halva. The taste has an extraordinary combination of bitterness with a light noble berry sourness. The drink turns out to be sweetish, with hints of nuts and a hint of raspberry in the taste. It has a long aftertaste with subtle woody and tobacco notes.
The fruits of Yellow Bourbon undergo a special processing in a natural way, thanks to the thin peel and drying of the berries directly on the branches of the plant, the grains acquire decent taste properties, with a slight sour tint, a balanced and plentiful taste.
The French press reveals a berry flavor with notes of plum pit. As it cools, a raspberry note appears.
Yellow Bourbon coffee is great for alternative brewing. When tasting this variety in the pour over, an extraordinary creamy aroma appeared, decorated with notes of jasmine. In general, the pour over perfectly reveals the famous “juiciness” of this variety, along with the inherent Brazilian bitterness of dark chocolate with the tartness of cocoa beans. And again, the result is a kind of “raspberry pie” from method to method.
Interesting facts about Yellow Bourbon coffee
Number of votes: 9 2
5
1
9
Was the information helpful? Rate and leave a comment? Better yet, share!
Comments
We will be glad if you share your opinion or add to a note or article.
Varieties of varieties and their characteristics
The territory of Brazil is vast and depending on where it grows, Brazil Santos coffee beans vary in taste.
For your information. There is a variety that is obtained only from old trees, regardless of region, called Flat Bit Santos. Its large fruits are collected from plants older than 4 years. The drink they make is tart, strong, and has a nutty flavor. The sourness characteristic of Arabica is almost not felt. From young trees, the grains are small, twisted, and often deformed. But their taste is classic, sour, more delicate. The drink from young Santos is famous for its refined aroma.
Bourbon Santos
The bean coffee called “bourbon” consists of the best varieties of Brazilian Arabica of truly royal quality. It is sent on its way to the consumer in large wholesale quantities from the famous port of Santos. The drink has a noble taste, it is soft, deep, memorable.
Yellow Bourbon Santos
In the southeast of Brazil, in the state of Minas Gerais, a unique Arabica variety called Santos is grown. Several mountain ranges stretch through its territory. Climatic conditions and fertile soils make it possible to grow excellent coffee on the high slopes of the mountains. The ripe berries of Yellow Bourbon Santos have a sunny color and a very thin skin.
Important! Yellow Bourbon Santos berries have an amazing property - they are not able to cross with other varieties and have complete genetic purity.
After drying, the fruits do not require washing. The beans, dried by the hot sun and washed by rain, do not need strong roasting. You can only buy single-varietal Yellow Bourbon Santos for a lot of money, but it will give you incredible pleasure. The drink made from yellow berries is soft, with the addition of chocolate and nuts, the aroma is delicate and fruity.
Classic Brazil Santos
Consists of several varieties of Brazil Santos. It is often mixed with Flat Beat Santos or Yellow Bourbon. Depending on the blend, the taste of the drink is formed; it usually has a chocolate tint, pleasant sourness and a nutty aftertaste.
Features of growing and processing Yellow Bourbon
Yellow Bourbon is cultivated in Brazil, El Salvador, Colombia, and Guatemala. The taste of the grains depends both on the region of growth and on the processing method.
Brazil
In Brazil, yellow Bourbon is called Amarelo, red - Vermelho. Most plantations of this variety are concentrated in the state of Minas Gerais, at an altitude of 1000–1300 m above sea level. Although the variety is early, the trees are planted in such a way that the coffee ripens as quickly as possible: this way there is less chance of diseases.
For example, in the area of Carmo de Minas, where the average annual temperature is +18 ° C, Yellow Bourbon plantations are laid out on hillsides with a slope of 50 °: it is warmer here than in the valleys, and the wind provides good ventilation, so the trees do not suffer from coffee rust .
It's hot in Brazil, so the local Yellow Bourbon is most often collected selectively (using the picking method) and subjected to dry processing; only some plantations use the wet method. The half-washed method is much more widespread, when, using special equipment, only the peel and part of the pulp are removed from the berries, and the grains with the remaining pulp are dried in the sun.
Brazilian Yellow Bourbon is fragrant with spices and nuts, notes of honey are felt in the balanced taste, and when the coffee cools slightly, a subtle citrus sourness appears.
El Salvador and Cobumbia
In El Salvador and Colombia, Yellow Bourbon is processed in a washed or semi-washed process. This coffee has a taste of cane sugar and milk chocolate, harmoniously combined with a slight sourness.
Guatemala
In Guatemala, Yellow Bourbon plantations are located at an altitude of 1600 m above sea level. It is quite cool here, the beans do not dry out in the sun, so the coffee is wet processed. Guatemalan Yellow Bourbon has delicate caramel-citrus notes with a hint of chocolate in the aftertaste.
India
There are small plantings of Yellow Bourbon in India. Here the trees mutated slightly, forming a new variety called Yellow Golden Drops, famous for its pleasant chocolate flavor.
The fate of the harvest
Almost every adult in Brazil drinks up to 20 large cups of coffee a day, but Brazilians are not particularly picky about their taste. They are content with a drink made from discarded beans, and a quality product in the form of selected Arabica beans is sent abroad. Until recently, coffee exports accounted for 80% of foreign trade revenues. Now the share has dropped to 35%.
Only 4 companies in Brazil produce 2/3 of the volume of coffee produced, including the Santos variety. For a century and a half, the country remains a leader in world coffee production. And there are no prerequisites for changing the situation. The hardworking residents of the country of carnivals will not leave us without an excellent morning drink, and the magnificent Brasil santos will fill our homes with the coffee aroma.
