Name: Brazils robusta coffee growers boost quality as prices rise
Uploaded: 2025-12-08T14:45:45.541Z
Duration: 2 min 32 s
Description: As climate change threatens the arabica beans traditionally used in high-end brews, Brazilian farmers are investing in harvesting and drying techniques to produce top-notch robusta that appeals to the most demanding consumers.

As climate change threatens the arabica beans traditionally used in high-end brews, Brazilian farmers are investing in harvesting and drying techniques to produce top-notch robusta that appeals to the most demanding consumers.

State of Espírito Santo

Brazilian coffee growers, particularly in Espírito Santo, are focusing on improving the quality of Robusta beans as climate change makes Arabica cultivation more challenging. Farmers are adopting advanced harvesting and processing techniques, such as electric drying and careful salting, to meet rising demand and achieve higher prices for Specialty Robusta.

Industry standards are also evolving, with the Specialty Coffee Association updating its evaluation criteria to include Robusta. As a result, prices for Specialty Robusta have more than doubled since 2021, outpacing the price growth of Arabica beans on the global market.

Brazil's robusta coffee growers boost quality as prices rise

Climate change is making it harder to grow Arabica beans, the priced ingredient in most high-end brewed coffees. That's why Brazilian farmers are pouring effort and money into creating premium Robusta beans that even the pickiest coffee lovers will enjoy. Coffee prices are at record highs this year because of extreme weather and trade tensions, and premium Robusta beans let roasters reduce costs without sacrificing taste. Marco Kirkmeister is co-founder of the Santo Grão Coffee Shop Network. Coffee has many different varieties with different flavors. People have different tastes and different brewing methods. Robusta is a coffee that has a lot of body and creates a lot of crème for an espresso. Wonderful with chocolate notes, nuts, it's wonderful for an espresso. This year, the Specialty Coffee Association, which sets global standards for specialty brews, updated its evaluation course. Now, coffee experts are trained to fairly judge both Arabica and Robusta. Starting in 2026, the SCA will start updating its flavor list to include fine Robusta notes like Aromatic Spice. Change is also coming in Brazil's Espírito Santo state, which grows most of the country's Robusta. Douglas Gonzaga is coordinator of the Espírito Santo Specialty Coffee Center. In the past, Robusta coffee like Conilon was seen as a lower quality coffee, but that story is changing. We know that if you combine proper harvest and post-harvest management, you get an excellent product in the cup with sweetness, acidity, body and very significant sensory quality. The state aims to produce 1.5 million bags of Specialty Robusta per year by 2032. That would only be about a tenth of its overall production, but it means many more farmers will need to adopt the same careful drying and salting methods used for Arabica. In the past, some growers dried Robusta beans next to smoky open fires, which made the coffee taste bad. Now, producers are being taught the benefits of electric dryers and careful salting, and all the hard work is paying off, as demand is growing fast, and so are prices. According to Brazil's coffee exporters, a bag of Specialty Robusta now sells for more than $295. That's more than double what it cost in 2021. On the world market, Robusta prices are up more than 80% over the same period, outpacing the 60% rise for Arabica.

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