Brazil Cerrado
This selection is a blend from producers of the Cerrado region of Brazil. It's graded as Fine Cup (FC) and Strictly Soft (SS) which is the highest cup category in Brazil. This is an excellent blender, especially for classic Italian style or Hydrid Espresso. It's got low acidity and a creamy texture with notes of cocoa powder, peanut and malt with just a hint of lemon.
Brazilian coffee is a worldwide staple for a reason: it's incredibly versatile and pairs well with many coffees. While this Cerrado isn't our favorite for a single origin brew, it is a vital blend component for many roasters. For espresso, it adds creaminess and crema while counteracting the acidity of other components. For drip blends, it's great for taming aggressive flavors and making the cup all around more easy drinking. In all applications, you'll find it adds a chocolatey undertone as well as a pleasant nutty finish.
Here are a few blending ideas to get you started blending:
Italian Style Espresso: 90% Brazil, 10% Robusta
Italian/West Coast Hybrid Espresso: 33% Brazil, 33% Sumatra, 33% Guatemala
Everyday Drip Blend: 33% Brazil, 33% Guatemala or Colombia, 33% Honduras or other sweet Central American coffee
Reminder! This coffee is raw, you must roast it before brewing
Arrival Date: July 1st, 2022
Acidity & Brightness: Low acidity, gently sweet
Balance & Finish: Slightly complex, lingering nutty finish
Body & Texture: Medium-full bodied, creamy mouthfeel
Flavors: Cocoa powder, malt, peanuts & hints of lemon
Grade: 17/18 Screen, FC/SS (Fine cup/strictly soft), highest category in Brazil, grown at 850-1100 masl
Certifications: Organic and Fair Trade
Processing: Natural (dry) processed, sun dried
Grower: Producers from the Cerrado Region
Varietals: Yellow Bourbon, Mundo Novo, and Obatã
Recommended Roast Range: City+ to Full City+ (Light to medium-dark)
Start with a Full City (Medium), or just before the second crack. Brazil Cerrado will roast a little unevely due to the natural processing. We don't recommend carrying Brazil coffees too dark in the roasting spectrum. Since they are grown in full sun, they mature fairly rapidly. This results in a softer bean that we don't think takes to dark roasting well. If your roaster has variable temperature, avoid the hottest settings to preclude scorching or "tipping". When kept to a medium or medium-dark roast, this coffee is a nice, gentle, mild cup. If roasted to dark, like most softer bean coffees, it can pick up an unpleasant ashy taste.
Royal Coffee - "As the world's largest coffee producer, Brazilian lots often come in larger sizes with regional names. So, it becomes extremely helpful to understand regional nuances. The Cerrado region, the newest of three major Brazilian growing regions, has been building in reputation and production over the last few decades. Located between São Paulo and Brasilia, coffee in this region is grown on high plateaus at elevations peaking just over 1,000 meters above sea level. The region also has relatively mild weather patterns providing a more predictable climate for processing coffee.
