Brazilian Coffee Facts

As Olympic fever grips the country I thought now would be a good time to give you some facts about the host nations rich and sometimes controversial coffee history.

• Brazilian athletes had to fund their trip to the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics by selling coffee along the way.
• In Brazil Robusta is called Conilon
• 80% of Brazil’s coffee is Arabica, which grows best between 1,800 and 3,600ft.
• The general coffee harvest in Brazil is between May and September.
• 3.5 Million people are involved in the coffee industry within Brazil
• There are roughly 220,000 coffee farms involved within the coffee industry in Brazil.
• In 1950 Coffee accounted for 63.9% of total exports. In 2006 it was just 2.5%.
• It is Illegal to import raw coffee into Brazil. As a result, nearly all coffee sold in Brazil is Brazilian.
• Children are widely given coffee at school to help increase domestic consumption within Brazil.
• In the 1930’s the Brazilian government burned 78 million bags of coffee to try to raise coffee prices.