Brazil has a long history with coffee dating back to the 18th century, when a Portuguese colonel smuggled coffee seedlings out of French Guiana and brought them to Brazil. Coffee production boomed in the 19th century, transforming Brazil into the world's largest coffee producer by the 1840s. The coffee economy drove massive infrastructure growth and immigration to Brazil. However, the Great Depression caused a global coffee surplus that crippled Brazil's economy. In a notable attempt to finance their 1932 Olympics team, Brazilian athletes tried selling coffee aboard a ship to the US but faced difficulties that prevented many from competing.

1. Coffee and Brazil
Exploring the relationship between the biggest South
American nation and its most famous produce.

2. The History
With a relationship that dates back to the 18th century, Brazil and coffee are
often talked about together. It is a pretty well-known fact that Brazil contributes
about one-third of the total coffee production on the planet. But how did it all
start? If not for the love of coffee, we ask this to quench our thirst for trivia
After the discovery of the coffee shrub in what is now Ethiopia, the cultivation
spread around the Arabian peninsula. By the 1600s, the drink had become
popular in European cities, and Europeans’ desire to profit from the trade of
this highly desired beverage resulted in a series of coffee espionage. One of
those coffee spies is credited with being the person who brought coffee to
Brazil.
The story goes like this: The Portuguese long aspired to bring in and cultivate
coffee in Brazil, which was under their command. When their attempts to
obtain the shrub from neighboring French Guiana failed, they sought the help
of Lieutenant Colonel Francisco de Melo Palheta of the Brazilian Army.
Colonel Palheta received the perfect opportunity to perform this task when he
was called on for a diplomatic visit by French Guiana to settle a border dispute
between them and Dutch Guiana. If legends are to be believed, while there,
our protagonist befriended and charmed the wife of the Colonial Governor,
and on the eve of his departure, the lady gifted him a bouquet that contained
the seedlings. Mission accomplished!
The seedlings were first planted in the state of Pará, and from there they
spread southwards towards the state of Rio de Janeiro, where the first coffee
plantation was established in 1770. But it was not until the 19th century that
production boomed. Until then, coffee was produced just for domestic
consumption. It was in the early 19th century that the demand for coffee
spiked in America and Europe. Between the 1830s and the 1850s, production

3. increased at an exponential rate, reaching the states of Sao Paulo and Minas
Gerais.
Brazil had become the world’s largest coffee producer by the 1840s,
accounting for 40% of global output.
The Coffee Economy
This huge boom in coffee production brought about a significant upgrade in
infrastructure, as a large volume of workers, some of whom immigrated from
as far away as Japan, flocked to the region of Minas Gerais. A railway system
was built for the transportation of produce to the market and to also serve the
growing population.
The city of São Paulo rapidly expanded with millions of immigrants arriving to
work in the growing coffee industry, and as a result, it transformed from a
small town to a growing metropolis and one of the largest industrial centers of
the developed world. The Sao Paulo coffee industry soon became powerful
enough to control and dominate both the national economy and the
government. Together with the dairy industry of Minas Gerais, they witnessed
a meteoric rise in the decades between 1880 and 1930, which is famously
known as the “café com leite” (coffee with milk) period in Brazilian history.
During this period, So Paulo also surpassed Rio de Janeiro as the largest city
and most important center of industry and commerce in Brazil (at the time of
writing, So Paulo is the most populous and wealthiest city in Brazil, as well as
the world’s fourth largest city proper by population). By the early 20th century,
Brazil had become the undisputed king of the international coffee trade,
producing 80% of the world’s coffee.

4. Crisis, and an Olympic team
Brazil’s dream run in the coffee trade came to a halt when the world economy
was hit by the Great Depression in the 1930s. Not even the mighty coffee
industry of Brazil was spared. A reduction in both the demand and price of
coffee worldwide meant the product, which was already being overproduced
at that point, was facing a surplus situation. The government did everything in
its power to manage the crisis at hand. And it was during this time that the
world witnessed an extraordinary yet trivial event.
The Summer Olympics were set to take place in Los Angeles, California, in
1932. The Brazilian National Sports Federation decided to send a team to the
event while also announcing a very unique sponsorship scheme: it would be
funded by coffee.
A merchant steamer, named S.S. Itaquicê, was chartered to carry the team of
athletes to the US. Along with the athletes, the ship was to carry a large
amount of coffee (reports vary, but most put it at 50,000 to 55,000 bags of
coffee). It was planned that the athletes would sell the coffee at ports along
the way and the rest in Los Angeles itself.
Unfortunately, not everything went as planned, and they faced difficulties
selling the coffee. They were unsuccessful in selling the product at the Port of
Spain and the Panama Canal, and when they reached Los Angeles, more
than half the stock still remained unsold. This resulted in many of the athletes
being unable to even leave the ship and participate in the games. While this
chapter in history ends on a sad note, the diligent efforts and adventures of
the players to finance their trip garnered them a lot of appreciation and
respect.

5. At present, Brazil still produces about one-third of the coffee in the world, but
the export volume has reduced drastically since the 1950s. The reason is
attributed mainly to the increase in nations cultivating and trading the famous
beans.
Perfetto delivers premium coffee made from the finest beans sourced
from the best and most famous coffee producers around the world,
including Brazil. You can explore our extensive range of flavored,
instant, single-origin, and freeze-dried coffee.
23 November 2022 By Aditya Pradhan for Perfetto™