Interior shows that gourmetization of coffee is restricted – 02/22/2024 – Café na Prensa

The reality in the corners of Brazil shows that the gourmetization of coffee is a phenomenon still restricted to large urban centers.

Data from the industry itself reveal that the sale of gourmet coffee is actually growing at a much faster pace than traditional powder, as shown by the Coffee in the Press.

In the less urbanized interior of Brazil, however, the reality is different. From bakeries to coffee shops, no special grains, single origins, etc. What you see are traditional cafes.

In December 2023, the Coffee in the Press traveled more than 2,500 km through the backlands of the states of Alagoas, Pernambuco, Bahia and Piauí. The blog visited dozens of establishments such as coffee shops and bakeries in small, medium and large cities, such as Piranhas (AL), São José da Tapera (AL), Petrolina (PE), Remanso (BA) and São Raimundo Nonato (PI) .

In these places, in fact, Santa Clara reigns supreme, a brand from the 3Corações group that is the market leader in the North and Northeast regions. It’s difficult to go to a better-structured bakery or café and not come across crockery or napkin holders provided by the company.

Special or gourmet coffee is something that doesn’t even cross the minds of traders and consumers in this region. The idea that coffee is coffee prevails. At most stronger or weaker. No distinguishing attributes such as sweetness or acidity, as is done in the gourmet market.

The exception is cities located close to coffee producing regions, where it is common for there to be gourmet coffee shops, often owned by the farmers who grow the beans themselves.

That said, it should be noted that traditional coffee today is much better than it was a few years ago. Management in Brazil has improved even in these most popular categories — at least for the big brands.

If before it was common to find coffees with toasted, charred sensorial notes and a smoky taste, today what we see is a drink with less pronounced bitterness. This excessively bitter taste can still be found on extra-strong class labels.

It is clear that the higher price of gourmet and specialty coffees is an insurmountable barrier for a significant portion of the population, but the almost non-existence of gourmetization in the interior goes beyond the economic aspect. Even in sophisticated establishments in cities with higher purchasing power, such as Petrolina, the coffee served is traditional.

Petrolina, in fact, is the only city visited by the blog with coffee shops focused on specialty coffee, such as Café de Bule, which has been around for years, and the recently opened The Lopes Coffee.

By taking the focus off the capitals and looking at Brazil in its entirety, it is easy to understand why, although the gourmet market is growing at such a rapid pace, it still does not even reach 10% of the coffees sold in the country, according to data from Abic (Brazilian Association of the Coffee Industry).

Therefore, when discussing purity, quality and socio-environmental responsibility in coffee consumption, it is not enough to advocate for consumers to change their habits and start consuming special coffee — which, in fact, has these issues as prerequisites. Doing so would leave out most of the production.

It is necessary to demand that large traditional coffee companies continue to produce an increasingly pure and balanced drink and that they start adopting a more effective social and environmental traceability strategy.

Follow the Coffee in the Press also on Instagram @davidmclucena and X (ex-Twitter) @davidlucena

What topic would you like to see here on the blog? Send suggestions to [email protected]

LINK PRESENT: Did you like this text? Subscribers can access five free accesses from any link per day. Just click the blue F below.