Brazilian CoffeeBrazilian Coffee was brought about by adultery, deceit and politics, all the makings of a modern-day best-seller, yet this story is over 250 years old. In 1727 a Brazilian official named Francisco de Melho Palheta was invited to mediate a heated border dispute between French and Dutch Guiana. Both governments were actively growing coffee in Guiana and closely guarded their financial interests by not allowing the exportation of viable coffees seeds. Palheta quickly accepted the invitation with hopes of somehow obtaining some seeds for planting coffees in Brazil. While in Guiana Palheta became romantically involved with the French Governors wife. Upon his departure, after successfully mediating a solution to the border issue, the Governors wife presented him with a bouquet of flowers in which she had disguised several coffee seedlings. The production of this product had a dark side. As the cultivation of coffee in Brazil grew, so did slavery. Without enough local labor to handle the ever increasing demand for coffee, the government of Brazil imported slaves by the tens of thousands. By 1828 well over a million slaves, nearly a third of the population, labored on the brazilian coffee plantations. In response to pressure from the British Government, who had outlawed slavery and were boycotting slave-grown coffee, Brazil half-heartedly outlawed slavery. Though importation of slaves declined, it did not cease and the two-million or so slaves that were already in the country remained in bondage. It would be another fifty years before slavery was truly abolished. As production of Brazilian Coffee modernized, modern being a relative term for a third-world country. A few growers established a reputation for providing high-quality coffee and edged their way into the American specialty market. The best Brazilian Coffee comes from the region around San Paulo and is named for the port through which it is exported, Santos. Santos is known for its smooth flavor, medium body and moderate acidity. While Santos has the best coffee, it is still far from extraordinary when compared to other gourmet coffees of the world. Even with the reputation of providing low-grade coffee to the masses, the impact Brazil has had on the world coffee trade is undeniable. Without this crop to stabilize the market, coffee prices could be three to four times what they are. Imagine paying $15-20 for a one pound can of Folgers. I, for one, am grateful to Brazil for providing the world with cheap coffee.   Write A Review Here.
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