A History of Coffee 3) Coffee Catches Fire
Mar 2, 2021
Discover how one Brazilian man's vast coffee empire could cover an entire European country! Learn about Brazil's emergence as a coffee giant and the shift from slavery to foreign labor post-abolition. Dive into the cultural impact of Brazilian coffee on American life, especially during the Civil War. Explore the evolution of coffee roasting from home kitchens to commercial machines, revealing both the benefits and costs of industrialization. Plus, get insights into the specialty coffee movement and engage with Brazilian coffee culture!
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Brazil's Geographic Coffee Advantage
- Brazil's landmass and climate gave it enormous latent capacity to grow coffee at industrial scale.
- That geographic advantage helped Brazil become the world's dominant coffee producer by the late 19th century.
Railways Turn Forests Into Coffee Empire
- Fertile soils, flat terrain and new railways turned forest into huge coffee estates quickly.
- Rail links to Santos enabled mass export and industrialized coffee geography around São Paulo.
Coffee's Early Reliance On Enslaved Labor
- Brazil imported a huge share of enslaved Africans and built much of its colonial agricultural economy on their labor.
- Slavery fueled early coffee expansion and continued until Brazil abolished it in 1888.
