Brazil is by far the leading producer of coffee in the world with over 50 million bags. They are driven by the private sector and have greatly improved quality for both arabica and robusta over the last 20 years, although they still focus on high production and low costs generally.
Brazil does not usually receive assistance from traditional donors such as USAID, so CQI has not worked there in that capacity. However, several people such as Ted Lingle, Mane Alves and Manuel Diaz began both Q arabica and Q robusta courses in 2009 through 2012 with private sector partners and these programs are very active. CQI worked with a number of organizations for some time, but have settled on the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA) as our in country partner. BSCA was also the platinum sponsor of the CQI luncheon in 2015.
With BSCA, CQI now has a strategy and a couple of Q instructors as well as 171 Q graders. This number is growing quickly and the system is being adopted by many Brazilian exporters. Carlos Brando, a well known Brazilian coffee expert is on the CQI board of Directors
