As you may know, Brazil cranks out more coffee than any other country. But how much more than that do you know about the country’s coffee landscape?
With farmers and others wringing their hands over drought conditions in some of Brazil’s coffee-growing regions, here are 29 facts about java in the South American nation that might just perk up your day.
1. Brazil produces about 30 percent of the world’s coffee supply.
2. Brazil has about 290,000 coffee growers.
3. Nearly 6.7 million acres of coffee bushes are planted in Brazil.
4. About 6 billion coffee bushes grow each year in Brazil.
5. Coffee is raised in more than 2,000 local jurisdictions across 16 Brazilian states.
6. Situated in the southeastern part of the country, Minas Gerais is Brazil’s largest coffee-producing state.
7. With nearly 2.5 million acres planted, Minas Gerais accounts for about half of Brazil’s coffee harvest.
8. In Brazil, coffee beans are harvested from May through September.
9. With a 28 percent share, Brazil is the top supplier of coffee to the U.S.
10. Eighty percent of coffee from Brazil is a variety known as Arabica.
11. Seventy-one percent of coffee farms in Brazil cover less than 25 acres.
12. Brazilian farmers traditionally “strip-pick” coffee beans, meaning just one or two passes are made on each bush.
13. Brazil notched the second highest price on record for coffee: $49.75 per pound.
14. The Brazilian coffee industry generates about 8 million jobs.
15. Coffee beans made up 10 percent of Brazil’s commodity exports in 2013.
16. Coffee exports generated $5.15 billion in revenue for Brazil in 2013.
17. Coffee as a share of Brazil’s total exports peaked at nearly 64 percent in 1950.
18. The coffee borer beetle, which lays eggs in coffee beans, costs Brazil $300 million per year in lost crops.
19. Small-scale coffee farming in Brazil gained traction in 1888 after the abolition of slavery and the introduction of favorable immigration rules.
20. The first major exports of coffee in Brazil began in 1802.
21. Following a trip to neighboring French Guiana, Lt. Col. Francisco de Mello Palheta planted the first tree in Brazil in 1727.
22. By 1820, coffee had become the most exported product in Brazil.
23. Coffee-growing elevations in Brazil range from about 2,000 feet to 4,000 feet.
24. Brazilian coffee is known for its clear, sweet, medium-bodied, low-acid qualities.
25. Production of specialty coffees in Brazil picked up steam in the 1990s.
26. Brazil is the world’s second largest consumer of coffee.
27. More than 98 percent of Brazilian households drink coffee.
28. Some experts predict Brazil soon will oust the U.S. as the world’s largest coffee-consuming market.
29. Coffee shop chain Starbucks opened its 100th store in Brazil earlier this year.
Data sources
http://www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/brazil.htm
https://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/circulars/coffee.pdf
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/coffee/legend6.html
http://www.scaaevent.org/PDF/PressKit/2012/FactsandFigures.pdf
http://www.ncausa.org/About-Coffee/Coffee-Around-the-World
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/13/us-brazil-coffee-procafe-idUSKBN0M903V20150313
http://www.cafeimports.com/origin_brazil
http://www.casabrasilcoffees.com/learn/history-of-coffee-in-brazil/
http://www.littlegatepublishing.com/2014/06/the-history-of-brazilian-coffee/
http://www.morethanshipping.com/worlds-largest-coffee- producer-and-exporter-brazil/
https://news.starbucks.com/news/starbucks-in-brazil-celebrates-popular-cafezinho-tradition
