Brazil Espirito Santo Immigrantes Semi-Washed NY2/3 SC 16+ 2025

Espirito Santo Green Coffee

Espirito Santo was once home to sugarcane plantations owned by Portuguese colonizers, who abandoned the estates in the early 1800s after Brazil declared its independence from Portugal. The central government divided the land into small plots that were sold to Italian immigrants who took up coffee farming. To this day, the population of Espirito Santo is mostly made up of people with Italian ancestry and they keep traditions alive through cultural festivals and cuisine.

The slopes in Espirto Santo are steep, in contrast to the largely flat terrain found throughout the rest of Brazil. That’s why producers and their family members handpick coffee cherries instead of relying on machine harvesters. The average farm size is small, around seven hectares, and the microclimate is mild with well-defined seasons. While the region is particularly renowned for specialty Robusta, Espirito Santo is growing in prominence for sustainable practices and the dedication of its smallholder farmers.

How is Brazil green coffee graded?

Brazil was the first country to implement a formal grading system for classifying coffee beans. In 2002, the Brazilian Official Classification (Classificação Oficial Brasileira, or COB) was standardized by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA), and they outlined precise protocols for cupping and grading green coffee.

Unpacking this coffee note for note: the coffee beans passed through a sifter with holes equal to or above 16/64 of an inch in diameter. Additionally, this coffee is graded NY 2/3, which allows no more than 8-12 visible defects in a 300-gram sample.

About Brazilian Coffee

Brazil’s coffee story kicked off in 1727 with Arabica seeds smuggled from French Guiana, and within a century, it became the world’s leading coffee producer. Coffee fueled Brazil’s economy, dominated by agrarian oligarchs who drove production and exports, especially from São Paulo.

The abolition of slavery in 1888 brought waves of immigrants to coffee-growing regions, propelling Brazil’s coffee output to 80% of global supply by the 1920s. Though other countries have since increased their exports, Brazil still provides over 33% of the world’s coffee and consumes 20 million bags domestically, with a supply chain that generates more than 8 million jobs – proof of just how important coffee is to life in Brazil and how important Brazil is to coffee drinkers around the world. Read more in our Brazilian Coffee Origin Report