Brazil is an entrepreneurial country. Brazil is the largest coffee producer in the world! The country has gained its position in the last 150 years of coffee production and maintenance. The crop first arrived in Brazil during the 18th century and the country had become the supreme producer by the 1840’s. Coffee remains as an important export, although its vitality has reduced in the last 50 years. The grain produced in the country feeds an enormous internal and external market. The money earned from coffee exports was the necessary capital that has brought important changes in the country’s society, economy and culture.

Brazil is the world’s biggest coffee grower and exporter and the size of its annual harvest can have a strong effect on world prices. Brazil itself is the second largest consumer of coffee, next is Germany, on the authority of the International Coffee Organization in London. Brazil increased its coffee production to an amazing 46 million bags in 2008, easily beating its closest rivals like Vietnam that produces 19 million bags and Colombia that forms 13 million bags. That’s a staggering 7500 tons of coffee, harvested, bagged and stored for each and every day of the year ! Of course, these processes happen at different times throughout the year, but whichever way you look at it, there is a lot of awesome coffee in Brazil!

Over 75% of this production was Arabica coffee, with the state of Minas Gerais on its own production with more than 23 million bags, getting on for nearly twice as much as the whole of Colombia. General Mines is Minas Gerais which is found in the southeast of the country and is the third largest state in Brazil. It owes its name to the many mineral mines founded in the 18th century. In the same century, coffee was first introduced to Brazil by a government employee named Francisco de Mello Palheta. According to the intriguing story, back in 1727, he was invited to mediate a severe border problem between French and Dutch Guiana, whose governments were actively growing coffee in Guiana.

Both was closely protected by their financial interests by strictly rejecting the export of coffee seeds and plants. The place quickly accepted the invitation with hopes of somehow obtaining some seeds for planting coffee again in Brazil. Upon his departure, after successfully mediating a solution to the border issue and by pleasing the Governors wife, she gifted him with a bouquet of flowers in which she had hidden several coffee seedlings. The seedlings developed and the Brazilian farmers quickly learned the art of growing coffee and putting the emphasis on quantity rather than quality. This has historically been the Brazilian way of coffee production.

Today, however, Brazil is becoming a significant player, especially in the coffee industry. Bourbon, Typica, Caturra and Mundo Novo are the varieties of coffee grown in the states of Parana, Espirito Santos, São Paulo and Bahia in Brazil. As the world’s largest producer of coffee, Brazilians do at least practice of what they advertise, as they are second only to the United States who is being the world’s largest actual consumers of coffee! Coffee is the vast familiar product in the world apart from oil and Brazil produces the most in quantity with a huge margin!