Adultery, deceit and politics, all the makings of a modern-day
best-seller, yet this story is over 250 years old and what
ultimately led to brazilian coffee. In 1727 a Brazilian official
named Francisco de Melho Palheta was invited to mediate a heated
border dispute between French and Dutch Guiana. Both governments
were actively growing coffee in Guiana and closely guarded their
financial interests by not allowing the exportation of viable
coffee seeds.
Palheta quickly accepted the invitation with hopes of somehow
obtaining some seeds for planting coffee in Brazil. While in
Guiana Palheta became romantically involved with the French
Governors wife. Upon his departure, after successfully mediating
a solution to the border issue, the Governors wife presented him
with a bouquet of flowers in which she had disguised several
coffee seedlings.
The Brazilians quickly learned the rudiments of growing coffee
with emphasis on quantity over quality, which is still the
prevalent philosophy when it comes to growing coffee in Brazil.
Brazil is by far the largest producer of coffee in the world
with over forty percent of all coffee coming from this country.
However, the vast majority is of marginal quality and what the
major commercial processors such as Folgers, Maxwell House etc…
rely on as the base product for their blends. By adding small
amounts of higher quality coffee they are able to enhance
flavor, body and aroma and provide a product that is acceptable
to the masses at a reasonable price.
The production of coffee in Brazil had a dark side. As the
cultivation of coffee in Brazil grew, so did slavery. Without
enough local labor to handle the ever increasing demand for
coffee, the Brazilian Government imported slaves by the tens of
thousands. By 1828 well over a million slaves, nearly a third of
the population, labored on the coffee plantations.
In response to pressure from the British Government, who had
outlawed slavery and were boycotting Brazilian slave-grown
coffee, Brazil half-heartedly outlawed slavery. Though
importation of slaves declined, it did not cease and the
two-million or so slaves that were already in the country
remained in bondage. It would be another fifty years before
slavery was truly abolished.
As production of coffee in Brazil modernized, modern being a
relative term for a third-world country. A few growers
established a reputation for providing high-quality coffee and
edged their way into the American specialty market.
The best coffee in Brazil comes from the region around San Paulo
and is named for the port through which it is exported, Santos.
Santos is known for its smooth flavor, medium body and moderate
acidity. While Santos is the best coffee in Brazil, it is still
far from extraordinary when compared to other gourmet coffees of
the world.
Even with the reputation of providing low-grade coffee to the
masses, the impact Brazil has had on the world coffee trade is
undeniable. Without Brazilian coffee to stabilize the market,
coffee prices could be three to four times what they are.
Imagine paying $15-20 for a one pound can of Folgers. I, for
one, am grateful to Brazil for providing the world with cheap
coffee.
© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.
About Author :
Randy has more articles on coffee such as Colombian Coffee, Coffee and Alzheimers and Co
ffee Breaks.
