Brazil Minas Gerais Peaberry

Brazil coffee first and foremost shines as espresso. If you have an aeropress or espresso machine, Brazil should be one of the coffees you keep around. But not all Brazils are equal, and the nicer Brazils are also enjoyable as drip coffee or as part of a coffee blend. This Brazil comes from a co-op in the Minas Gerais region, which is a bit north of the common Mogiana and Cerrado regions. It has a softer, less harsh presence in coffee blends, offering some notes of brown sugar and milk chocolate and caramel to your espresso or coffee blends, along with a full body, and not as much earthy character as the cheaper Brazils.

This is a natural-processed coffee which gives it more complexity, but you don't roast it like a natural process -- you still crank it up and take it medium to dark. It is all peaberries (rather small roly poly ones), grown at approximately 3000 feet altitude. It was grown by members of the COOPERCITRUS co-op.

As coffee, it doesn't blow me away, but Brazil really never does. It is an okay breakfast mug, or nice blended in a breakfast blend. But as espresso: majestic. In a dark roast (20 seconds of 2nd cracks) you get fantastic creaminess and a walnut-bread (banana nut bread?) flavor which is quite enjoyable. In the very dark roasts (50 seconds of 2nd cracks) it remains sweet and creamy and flavorful (although less flavorful than the lighter roast) and still has a pronounced nutty undertone. Definitely a bean for espresso enthusiasts to enjoy playing around with.

USA Arrival: November 2023