It’s time to talk about the history of coffee in Brazil…
From the theories of how the product arrived in Brazilian lands to the events that made it one of the country’s main export commodities.
So, come with Consciencia Cafe to discover how this journey unfolded!
Palheta’s Mission: How Coffee Arrived in Brazil
It was between the 16th and 17th centuries that coffee reached the Americas through the hands of the Dutch and French.
Now, as for how it arrived in Brazil, the most accepted and realistic version says that it all began with a mission given by the Portuguese crown to sergeant-major Francisco de Melo Palheta, around 1720.
He was summoned for a diplomatic mission to French Guiana with the goal of overseeing a treaty that signaled Portuguese sovereignty in the territory.
And that’s where the unofficial request comes in — the sergeant-major was also supposed to, very discreetly, obtain coffee seedlings.
What is known is that Palheta acquired about 5 coffee plants and some portions of seeds, which according to him were obtained in Cayenne and transported to Brazil.
With the mission accomplished, these plants were taken to Para, where at first they didn’t adapt well.
They didn’t even receive much attention from the Portuguese crown, which was focused on sugar and excited about the discovery of gold in Minas Gerais.
How Brazil Started Its Coffee Production
Almost 100 years later, a great driver of coffee cultivation in Brazil was certainly the arrival of the Portuguese crown in the country.
Fleeing the threats of Napoleon Bonaparte, the royal family arrived in 1808, bringing along 15,000 people.
This brought changes to the internal economy, as well as new demands to sustain the crown.
Gold, being a non-renewable resource, began its decline at the beginning of the 18th century — production rates dropped significantly and the ore was running out.
And coffee, which had already started a modest but relevant production, entered the picture.
At that time, Haiti was the largest exporter in Latin America, but the country was in crisis, as enslaved people sought independence from Napoleon’s colonizers.
It was in this context that Brazil emerged in exports and became the world leader in production, thus beginning a new economic cycle.
The Expansion of Coffee Cultivation in Brazil
Due to the geographical conditions essential for coffee tree adaptation, plantations were taken to Rio de Janeiro, then through the Paraiba Valley and later to Minas Gerais.
Sao Paulo established itself as the country’s largest urban center and was one of the fastest-growing commercial hubs in the world.
In the 19th century, coffee plantations brought development to Brazil, which needed to modernize in order to expand. Here are some improvements that came with it:
- Development of a railway network;
- Road construction;
- Industrialization;
- Modernization of cities;
- Cultural development due to the new coffee reality;
- The port of Santos, which became one of the most important in the world.
The Crises of the Coffee Economic Cycle
At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a major crisis when production exceeded consumption.
Between 1901 and 1902, Brazil produced 16 million bags, while the world consumed 15 million.
This caused a price drop that led to a crisis in 1906, and many coffee farmers went bankrupt.
For this reason, the Taubate Convention was created, which set a minimum price per bag, in addition to attempting to prevent new plantations through taxes.
But do you think production stopped? Of course not!
From the Paraiba Valley, production moved to the north of the state, then expanded to the south of Minas and northern Parana.
New problems came with the 1929 crisis. To control prices, the government took the desperate measure of burning coffee stocks.
However, this was a long and intense crisis that led to the division of properties and a new cycle of coffee cultivation with small producers.
The History of Coffee in Brazil Continues!
When everything stabilized, coffee cultivation grew again and expanded to Bahia, Rondonia, and Goias.
In 1975, Sao Paulo and Parana were responsible for 70% of national production, but unfortunately that same year the black frost occurred, which burned a large part of the crop.
Currently, coffee production has remained stable in Brazil and accounts for one-third of world production.
In Minas alone, half of national production is concentrated, followed by Espirito Santo, Sao Paulo, Parana, Rondonia, and Bahia.
From the 1990s onward, there was a movement toward a more demanding consumer market, both nationally and internationally.
That is, a profile more interested in capsule coffees for their practicality, and in specialty coffees.
Currently, about 16% of exported coffee is a specialty beverage, with higher quality in flavor, aroma, and price.
This was a brief summary of the history of coffee in Brazil, which despite the crises faced over the years, continues to be one of the country’s main commodities.
Sometimes driving the economy, sometimes generating jobs, and also being a symbol of Brazilian culture, the history of coffee continues to be written with a promising future in sight.