Coffee is grown in the tropical zone around the equator, also known as the Bean Belt, where the climate is optimal for the growth of coffee. However, in Brazil, the effects of climate change are becoming more visible, and that affects the quality and quantity of coffee we find in our cups. But what exactly is the situation? We went on an Originetrip to Brazil to find out.
Table of Contents
1. What is coffee?
Coffee has more than 100 different species, each with their own varieties. At OR Coffee, we focus on the variety known for the best aromas: Coffea arabica, often simply called arabica. For an in-depth overview of this species, please visit the following blog: “Arabica coffee, what is it exactly?”
2. Coffee-on-the-grow
The coffee farmer plays a crucial role at the original coffee growing site, from the time the plants germinate until the fruit is harvested. Coffee growing is similar to fruit growing: it requires a lot of care and attention. After the young coffee plants have grown sufficiently, they are planted in the open ground on the plantation. They grow in rows on hilltops and flanks, exposed to the sun or shaded by other shrubs and trees.
It takes 2-3 years for the plants to begin producing, and only from the fourth year do they reach their maximum yield. Year after year, the coffee farmer strives to maintain this production through pruning and, if necessary, spraying. During our visits to three different coffee producers, we saw that each uses their own approach to this process.
3. From harvest to process
In this section, we dive deeper into the different stages of the coffee production process at three coffee producers we visited. We explore how coffee berries are harvested, processed and dried, and how each producer uses unique techniques and approaches to maintain their high-quality coffee.
Fazendas Dutra
At Fazendas Dutra, numerous fruit trees such as mango, papaya, avocado, banana, soursop, caju, and citrus grow among the coffee bushes. This produces a rich fruit crop, which is in stark contrast to other coffee plantations. The Dutra family works entirely organically: they fertilize their 1.1 hectares of coffee plantations exclusively with organic materials. They must also maintain at least 15%-20% of their land as forest.
The coffee bushes are mainly in full sun, but benefit from the shade of other trees to allow the berries to ripen slowly. However, due to the unpredictability of the climate over the past two years, the berries ripen unevenly, resulting in a mixture of green, ripe and overripe berries on the same bush. This complicates harvesting and processing.
The picking season has begun, but the high proportion of unripe and overripe berries poses a challenge. Processing is done in two locations. First, in the wetmill, overripe berries (“floaters”) are separated from the green and ripe berries using water: the “floaters” float, while the heavier berries sink. Then the berries are depulped (the pulp is removed) and dried on the patio. At another location, the berries are dried in dry mills, where hot air is controlled by a wood-burning oven. Coffee is dried to a moisture content of 10% to 12% and then packaged according to the trader or roaster's requirements. Coffee dried on the patio requires a lot of hand work, with employees turning the coffee regularly. This is done when turning the sun and with a kind of rake that they use to lay the coffee down properly, and depending on the quantity, there are more or fewer employees. Depending on the process, the berries are also processed differently.
Processing methods include:
Natural: drying the coffee beans in the berry.
Pulped Natural (honey process): the coffee is dried after being pulped.
Fully Washed: the coffee is washed and dried after pulping.
The quality is checked for screen size, moisture percentage, and defects, and the coffee is cupped to assess quality. A special machine separates floaters that still come through from the good beans by shaking, as the floaters weigh less and are thus diverted. Defects are removed by a sensor-controlled machine. Here the beans are chased through small tubes with the help of a sensor that shoots out the “bad” beans (the machine can be set according to color, size, etc.) via air pressure.
Fazenda Recanto
At Fazenda Recanto we see a similar approach, but with some important differences. The plantation has a greater number of berries per bush due to the use of non-organic fertilization. There are hardly any fruit trees except for a small plot, which is typical of this area where originally there was little forest growth. This is something that the family has restored over a 20-year period in conscious areas.
As with Fazendas Dutra, the freshly picked berries undergo a first selection in the wetmill. The difference is in the fermentation: at Recanto, after the beans are pitted, they are placed in a large basin to ferment for x number of hours. This process makes the coffee warmer the deeper you go into the mass. After fermentation, depending on the lot, the beans are either further dried in the dry mill or on the patio.
Again, quality is carefully controlled: screen size, water activity, and defects are looked at per lot, then defects are separated and processed by degree of defect so they can still sell or process them.
Coopervass
Coopervass is a cooperative where farmers can have their crops processed and sold. Many farmers do not have the resources to process their harvest themselves, and often their yield is limited to a few bales per year. The cooperative supports them logistically and acts as an intermediary between the farmer and the trader/roaster, with a view to direct trade.
In their large warehouse, the coffee beans are sorted for quality, dried, and fitted with a track-and-trace chip that tracks the location of the coffee. This allows the farmer (through Coopervass) as well as the buyer to see exactly where the coffee is. Farmers receive a fair price and can also buy some kind of shares and share in the profits. The president of Coopervass, who is also a producer, uses covered patios and drying beds on his plantation, which is better for the coffee beans.
4. What about the future?
Growing coffee in Brazil faces increasing challenges due to climate change. Farmers face more difficult conditions, and the question arises whether organic cultivation, which is particularly sensitive to global warming, is still profitable. The difference between organic and conventional cultivation is widening, and the question is whether organic methods are still economically viable.
In addition, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find motivated staff and keep costs manageable. The key to the future seems to lie in innovation and technological advances. New machines and technologies can help coffee plantations run efficiently with fewer staff. Whether these solutions will be enough to meet the challenges remains to be seen. Nevertheless, coffee farmers continue to work with passion and dedication to overcome these obstacles.
