On the burlap sacks of Brazilian coffee exports, there will be a string of English letters and numbers, for example "CERRADO NY-2 SC-17/18 SS FC". This string of numbers actually represents the green coffee grading of Brazil, established by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), and usually consists of the specific producing region, defect classification, coffee bean screen size, cupping score and sensory classification.

In Brazil, there are a total of 26 states, of which 17 states grow and export coffee, so Brazilian coffee regions are distinguished by state. However, with the development of specialty coffee, people have higher demands for coffee traceability, and regions have been divided in more detail. Brazil's coffee regions have also been divided into quite a few sub-regions.

The relatively well-known and common ones include Mogiana (MOGIANA), Sul de Minas (SULDE MINAS), Cerrado (CERRADO), etc., so coffee beans produced in these regions are all specifically labeled. In addition, some coffee beans are labeled with the export port, for example, Brazil's Santos port is labeled "SANTOS".

The NY2 that follows is Brazil's defect grading for green coffee beans. This grading system originates from the Green Coffee Association of New York, hence the "NY" prefix. However, in Brazil's coffee defect grading, the highest grade is NY2, not NY1, which has also aroused considerable curiosity, since in some other coffee-producing countries, such as Ethiopia, there are "G1" and "G2" grade divisions.

According to Brazil's grading, it is based on how many defective beans are found in 300 g of green beans, using a deduction method: the higher the proportion of defects, the more points are deducted, and thus the higher the grade number. The grades are 2, 2/3, 3, 3/4, 4 and so on. So why is there no top grade of NY1? It is because Brazil believes that to reach the NY1 grade, the coffee beans would need to be completely free of defects, but this is completely impossible.

Coffee is mainly grown in the flat highlands of south-central Brazil, at an altitude of around 1000 m, and on a large scale; no other country comes close to Brazil's coffee production scale. Brazil is also the world's most advanced and most industrialized coffee-producing country, so large machinery can be seen working among the coffee groves in Brazil. Although mechanized harvesting saves labor costs, it affects the specialty grade of the coffee to a certain extent.

Brazil also has some specialty coffee regions, where coffee is grown in high mountain areas at an altitude of 1000-1400 m, on relatively steep terrain where the level of mechanization is limited and most crops are harvested by hand. Even though hand-picking the coffee cherries after harvest offers a certain guarantee of quality and specialty grade, Brazil regards coffee as a crop and can never achieve zero defects, which is why there is no NY1 grade.

After green beans undergo defect grading, screens are used to grade coffee by screen size. "SC" stands for screen size. In Brazil the largest is 19 screen, but the yield is extremely small, so 17/18 screen or 16/17 screen is more common.

Finally, the sample beans are roasted and cupped. The cupping uses the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) cupping scoring method and is divided into 7 grades. Among them, a score of 85 or above is rated Strictly Soft (SS) grade, and a score between 80-84 is Soft (S) grade.

Finally, grading is based on cup quality and is usually divided into 6 levels: Fine Cup, Fine, Good Cup, Fair Cup, Poor Cup and Bad Cup, among which the most common are Fine Cup (FC) and Good Cup (GC).

Although Brazilian coffee is not outstanding in flavor and is low in acidity, its production is large, its price is cheap, and its quality and flavor are stable, with a balanced cocoa- and nut-like flavor and a rich, mellow taste. Therefore, many of the espresso blends at FrontStreet Coffee include Brazilian coffee beans.

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