1) What is Latitudes Brazilian Coffees?

Latitudes Brazilian Coffees is a coffee exporter of specialty coffees - ARABICAS and CANEPHORAS (Robustas Amazônicos) from Brazil, a country of continent dimensions, which has 37 producing regions. The company also exports coffees from partners in China and El Salvador.

 

2) Which regions are the coffee estates located in?

• 37 different regions from Brazil.

• Different regions from China and El Salvador.

 

3) How does Latitudes Brazilian Coffees position itself?

Latitudes Brazilian Coffees is a “Specialty Coffee Solution Provider”.

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We offer:

• Coffees selected every year by coffee professionals in the industry and by champions

• Microlots and nano-lots

• Coffee from several estates, direct trade, fully traceable.

• A wide selection of cherry naturals, naturally tree-dried.

• Honeys - Black Honey, Red Honey, Orange Honey, Yellow Honey and White Honey,

• Fully washed coffees 

• Caracolitos (Peaberries)

• “Secret Profile” - Custom-made blends created by clients 
• Special projects with fermentation and yeast

• Special preparations with fermentation and with yeast.

• Coffee Packaging Solution: jute, polypropylene and paper, 30 kilos (66 pounds) or 59 kilos (130 pounds), with liners or GrainPro 

• 4 different coffee pulp teas with different taste profiles.

. Specialty Canephoras Robustas Amazonicos from Rondonia, coffees that Edgard fell in love with in 2019, whose incredible profiles he had never tasted before. These are unique and rare treasures.

 

4) Does Latitudes Brazilian Coffees sell to the domestic market?

Yes. Edgard Bressani is involved with the Barista Community in Brazil and in the world since the first championships started. As a Coffee Hunter, traveling also for coffee sourcing and for visiting estates located in different regions in Brazil, many friends ask him for coffees. So some lots are sold to roasters in Brazil. Edgard also has written a book for baristas and coffee lovers - The Barista Guide (6th edition).

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5) Brazil only has coffees with chocolate and nut notes. 

Not true! It is possible to find coffees scoring from 80 all the way to 92, 93 points as in any other country. Brazil is a gigantic territory, with many different regions, soils, altitudes, latitudes. These make it possible to produce amazing coffees. We have sustainable coffees, organic coffees, Fair Trade coffees.

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6) Brazil is a producer of natural coffee

Wrong! Brazil produces naturally tree-dried coffees as well as different honeys and coffees with different preparations with fermentation, fully washeds, with a wide range of tasting notes like any other origin. The largest coffee producer has one of the most sophisticated coffee production.

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7) Brazil Santos and Brazil Cerrado

These names are more and more out of the vocabulary of specialty coffee roasters. Santos is a port name. And in the past, before 1991, when Brazilian coffee exports were still under strict coffee control, coffees were blended and this particular chocolate taste became known as Brazil Santos. On the other hand, Brazil Cerrado is a profile from a region called Cerrado, in Minas Gerais state. 

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8) How many coffee producing regions are there  in Brazil? 

37 different regions. With dry Winter in most of its territory, Brazil has an advantage in terms of harvesting and post-harvesting before other countries, where humidity levels during harvest are high, making it difficult to dry in cement patios. They usually have then to be dried in green houses or covered patios. In Brazil we can also find African beds and green houses in farms. Mechanical driers can also be found and they help farmers. They allow coffees to reduce humidity levels under the sun exposure and later drying is finished by applying gentle heat (hot air) to the beans. Mechanical driers have thermometers so that temperatures can be maintained at desired levels.

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9) Farms in Brazil are very big?

Not true! Brazil has more than 300,000 coffee farms and 72% of this total number have less than 20 hectares. So some farms are big and some are mid size, but they represent only 28%. Latitudes Brazilian Coffees works only with small and mid-size farm, since large ones usually export direct.

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10) Breaking Paradigms Altitudes x Latitudes

The more we move away from the Equator Line, the less the altitudes necessary to grow coffee. One cannot grow coffees in Brazil at 2000 masl, because it is simply too cold for the plant to resist to cold temperatures. The more you drive to the South, like to Parana State, to the Norte Pioneiro Region, the less altitude is necessary to have the same conditions required for coffee to be cultivated. At latitude 23S, one can have ideal conditions at 600 masl. Higher altitudes can be too cold. Today higher latitudes, above 24, cannot grow coffee. Maybe in the future, due to Global Warming, the frontier will be pushed beyond this line. In Colombia, since they are close to the Equator, they must grow coffees in higher mountains. In lower altitudes, they would not be able to produce it. 

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11) Arabica and Canephora

First important to mention that the species are Canephora and Arabica. Robusta is a botanical varietal of the Canephora. Many people use the expression Arabica and Robusta. It is wrong, because there are other varietals, like Conilon. And Robusta has several clones, that is, R03, R15, R25… We will also see more and more quality Canephoras arriving and a natural expansion in Canephora production since they are adapted to the weather of warmer places. We offer arabica coffee export and robusta coffee export.

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12) Breaking Paradigms - Arabicas are better than Canephoras

Wrong! With producers doing selective picking and using special preparations with fermentation in Rondonia (Robusta) and Espírito Santo (Conilon), amazing coffees can be found, and every year Latitudes Brazilian Coffees exports amazing Canephoras with high scores. You definitely should try them!  Latitudes Brazilian Coffees also organizes trips to origin to all different producing regions, as well to Matas de Rondônia Region, where specialty Canephoras are produced.

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13) Coffees from certain countries are better than coffees from other countries

Wrong! Coffee is like wine. Every country has exceptional wines. So all countries have the opportunity to produce high quality and high score coffees. Different terroirs can imprint distinct tasting notes. So Brazil also has 92, 93, 94 points coffees as well, like any other coffees

 

14) Use of land in Brazil for coffee production

Over the years, with the advances provided by research institutions, such as Embrapa, IAC, IAPAR, ENCAPER and many others, there has been a reduction of 55.1% of the coffee area and >400% increase in productivity due to good coffee farming practices.

 

15) Sustainability - Forests in Brazil and preserved area in farms

Total areas dedicated to native vegetation in Brazil: 564,235,949 ha (equivalent to the surface of 48 countries and territories in Europe. That represents 66.3% of the national territory.  It must not be forgotten that rural properties in Brazil must preserve native vegetation.  

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16) Mechanization x Hand Picking

Hand picking and stripping is what we find the most in Brazil. There are many mountainous areas in Brazil and mechanization cannot be used in these locations. In areas where topography allows, depending on the size of the farm, they can afford and use a machine for picking. And there is nothing wrong with using a machine. A machine can work 3 shifts, for 100 people. The window of cherry is short and labor is hard to find many places nowadays. Furthermore, the harvest machine fingers can be removed from the mid and lower areas and then only the top of the tree which faces more sun exposure can be harvested. Mid and lower fingers can be inserted on the second or third pass, allowing farmers to have more efficiency in collecting cherries for the preparation of honey and fully washed coffees. 

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17) World Coffee Demand 

Latitudes Brazilian Coffees has been pointing that a growth of only 2% might require a need in supply of 300 million bags of coffees by 2050. Today the all countries produce in total 172 million bags (2023). Also important to stimulate coffee producers to continue investing in specialty coffee production since many coffee shops and small roasteries are opening and they are all after specialty coffees. If production of specialty coffees does not follow this line closer, there will be a lack of good coffees for everyone.

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