Underrated by American consumers for a generation, Brazil produces sweet, mellow coffees that are anything but prosaic, bland, or indifferent.
Grade 2-3 has between 4-12 defect points in a 300 gr. sample. By Brazilian standards a 17 Screen coffee (sits on a 6.75mm mesh) is considered good to large. I mention this as 17/18 Screen Brazils have become rare, almost exotic this season as climatic...
Underrated by American consumers for a generation, Brazil produces sweet, mellow coffees that are anything but prosaic, bland, or indifferent.
Grade 2-3 has between 4-12 defect points in a 300 gr. sample. By Brazilian standards a 17 Screen coffee (sits on a 6.75mm mesh) is considered good to large. I mention this as 17/18 Screen Brazils have become rare, almost exotic this season as climatic change has produced a crop of dwarfed beans. Most specialty roasters have switched, to save money, to the smaller Screen 14/16 coffee, which lacks the swaggering bean presence of the larger beans. Gillies, impervious to the temptation of saving money at the expense of its products, continues to source the quality that you have come to expect from us.
A century ago Brazils were sold by the name of their port of origin, Bahia, Rio, Santos, and Victoria. Some folks still offer Santos for sale, though origin coffees are identified today by their geographic and farm geneses rather than their port of embarkation. It’s a nice touch to remember roots, but telling a Parisian that you are from New York, because that’s where you caught your overseas flight, seems inadequate if you started your journey in your hometown of Ames Iowa.
First cultivated in Brazil ca. 1727 by French nationals who brought it from French Guinea, Brazil hit its stride in 1840, when it emerged as the great coffee exporter of the world. Today, Brazil Naturals continue to provide a true 19th Century cup. The lower grown, and dry processed beans of this, biggest of all origins, please me as they offer aroma, mouth-feel and a dry nut & cocoa character to the cup without the brightness (read acidity) that is the hallmark of the currently fashionable high grown Pacific Coast Central American origins.
Brazils are delicate, and too much fire can destroy their best qualities. Ernesto Illy, who passed away in 2008, chose Brazil Arabicas for his blend. The famous Trieste manufacturer roasts very light by American espresso standards. The maestro liked Brazils’ silken, low acidity sweetness. The Illy method of curing and slowly degassing its blend lend itself well to the Brazils, whose flavors soften and bloom in the days, and weeks subsequent to their roast date. No matter how much I have learned through the years, I continue to pick up, and benefit from the knowledge shared by roasters I have admired. Gillies roasts a tad darker than our Italian friends, but well within my mental guidelines for this fabled origin. Gillies Standard Roast™ -DNS, coffeeman
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