How To Make Brazilian Coffee - A Delicious Cafezinho Recipe

Last updated on October 27th, 2023 at 13:35

When you learn how to make Brazilian coffee with a great traditional cafezinho recipe, it is in your best interest to follow the instructions and suggestions and enjoy it just as the locals do and enjoy your coffee black.

Using the very best ingredients will get you the best result. In this Brazilian coffee recipe we give two options for which coffee to use: one is outstanding in the taste department, the other is the most popular coffee in the nation.

Keep reading to learn this tasty Cafezinho recipe and what coffee beans are ultra delicious!

What Is A ?

Table Of Contents

1 What Is A Cafezinho Coffee?
2 Cafezinho And Its Place In Brazilian Culture
3 How To Make Brazilian Coffee – A Delicious Cafezinho Recipe
4 Brazilian Coffee Maker – Do You Need One?
5 What Brazilian Coffee Should You Use?
6 Frequently Asked Questions About How To Make Brazilian Coffee
7 Final Thoughts – How To Make Brazilian Coffee

literally translates to little , hence why it is served black. The deeper meaning and is the underlying meaning and how it is culturally enjoyed in the South American nation – with friends.

It is a drink that you will find all over Brazil, even in the most remote of places, even though it is the and due to the name, a is enjoyed black, but you will find that it is now relatively common for Brazilians to enjoy it with milk or cream.

The is made with rapadura, unrefined Brazilian .

Read: Brazilian coffee recipe

And Its Place In Brazilian Culture

One of the fabulous things about Brazil is the hospitality of the local people, they are so warm, so welcoming and so friendly – you are always offered a cafezinho and, they won’t permit your refusal.

…that is if you are even asked! More often than not one will be made for you, just simply handed to you with the expected answer of yes…so why ask!

At work, in the office, you can be working away and from nowhere, from the coffee gods, someone will appear and just pour one for you.

Even when you are shopping in the more sophisticated boutiques, you can expect someone to approach you and offer you a coffee. At coffee bars, expect a sweet sugar-dipped orange peel to be placed next to your cup.

In Brazil, there is always time for cafezinho.

How To Make – A Delicious Recipe

When you want to make Brazilian Coffee, and make it as delicious as you possibly can, use the best possible ingredients. It is the chef’s principle.

For an authentic cafezinho, use rapadura. One thing that changes the flavor and outcome of your drink quite dramatically in cases is the sweetener that you use. If you can’t find rapadura in your local stores, you can and will find it on Amazon.

For better results, instead of using coffee grounds, buy whole beans and grind them immediately before brewing. Of course, use Brazilian beans – that is part and parcel of this coffee recipe.

I’ll talk about which beans later.

Let’s get making a fabulous and tasty Brazilian coffee concoction.

Read: Café Bustelo Brazil

The Ingredients That You Need

You need very few ingredients to make . none of which are difficult to find. Rapadura, which is unrefined cane you will find on Amazon.

Here is what you need to make 4 cups of .

4 heaped teaspoons of of an espresso grind.
4 teaspoons of rapadura.
4 cups (720 ml, 24 ounces) of mineral or filtered .
Milk or cream (optional).

Equipment Required

There is no essential specialist equipment that you need to have other than what you may already have.

A paper , cotton () or a metal .
A glass for serving your drink.
A for heating your .

Step 1: Get Started By Boiling Your And Adding

This is where it all begins. Please adhere to the suggested temperature for making a great and very traditional coffee from a country that is very well known for its coffee.

The perfect temperature for brewing coffee is 92C and 96C (196F and 206F). Due to being a strong coffee, lean towards the higher end of the temperature scale.

When you brew below 92C (196F) you may end up with a sour tasting coffee; above 96C (206F) your coffee will taste burnt.

If you don’t have a digital thermometer you can boil your water and then take it out the heat to cool down for 30 seconds before you add your coffee grounds.

Heat your water and add your 4 teaspoons of rapadura and stir well.

Step 2: Remove Your – Mix From The Heat

Take your or pot off the heat and add your and stir well for 20 seconds. You can add your to the heat and stir your grounds to maintain the temperature range.

Step 3: Filter

Traditionally Brazilian coffee drinkers use a cloth coffee filter. You can try this one for an authentic experience. Traditional cafezinho is made with a cotton cloth filter that then drips into the cup below.

Later, it is up to you to adjust the type of filter that you use. The coffee filter that you use alters the final result due to how much of the coffee oils get filtered out.

A regular coffee filter, paper of a cone or flat bottom design results in a cleaner, crisper taste due to filtering out of all coffee oils.

A metal filter will result in a full-bodied coffee and full flavored due to filtering out none of the coffee oil.

A cloth coffee filter will result in a coffee that is in between the other two as they filter out only some, but not all, the coffee oils.

All will result in a great cup of coffee.

Simply pour your coffee mixture through your filter. To make it the way the Brazilians do, use a coffee sock, a cotton cloth filter and use it to filter your coffee.

Read: Cafezinho

Step 4: Enjoy Your

The final step. There is no need to add since you already added rapadura when making your .

You can optionally enjoy it as a or add milk or cream to lighten the taste and add texture.

Maker – Do You Need One?

There is no specialist maker as such. Many use a holder and place their mug below to catch the that is dripping out.

What Brazilian Should You Use?

When you are making Brazilian coffee and want to get the best from this cafezinho recipe I encourage you to use high-quality coffee that is single-origin coffee beans from Brazil.

Whole beans are best and much fresher than pre-ground coffee.

Peaberry coffee is a rare mutation that needs to be hand-picked. They are coffee beans that instead of having a twin, they are single coffee seeds inside the cherry getting all the flavor compounds and nutrients and not sharing them with another bean.

Which makes them particularly nutritious and delicious.

Volcanic coffee is particularly desired due to the high quality soil that is high in mineral content. It is also known for being tasty.

This makes my top recommended choice Brazilian Peaberry Coffee by Volcanica.

If you want an authentic experience, buy Pilao coffee traditional roast. This is the most popular coffee in Brazil and is what they use to make cafezinho at home.

Frequently Asked Questions About How To Make

is processed in 3 different ways. You will either need to know your Brazilian beans or read the label on the packaging.

These are:

Wet processed (also known as wet processing),
Semi-washed (also known as pulped natural).
Dry processed (also known as natural processed).

By far the majority of the beans are dry processed which is due to the country having the perfect climate for this method.

Brazilian coffee is different and stands out due to being a low acid coffee with an intense sweetness with chocolate and caramel notes. Brazilian coffee is full-bodied and heavy. Their specialty grade coffee is of top quality and very underrated. Upon a second or third sip you will absolutely enjoy the quality.

What Do Brazilians Put In Their ?

Brazilians love to put rapadura in their coffee, the famous cafezinho coffee. Rapadura is unrefined sugar. The coffee drink is usually served as a black coffee and is best enjoyed so.

With that said, it’s also common to see Brazilian coffee drinkers put milk or cream in their cafezinho to slightly alter the texture and lighten the coffee taste.

Cafezinho is the traditional coffee drink that you will find all over Brazil.

The that is most similar to is Colombian. They have a similar flavor profile and are, like , low in acid. They have a tendency to taste sweeter, just a touch sweeter.

What Is Famous In Brazil?

The famous coffee in Brazil and the one that is certainly worth trying is Bourbon Santos, arguable it is the best. It is silky smooth, with mild flavors and nutty sweet tones. Bourbon Santos is mostly grown in Minas Gerais or São Paulo.

How Is Made?

The traditional way of making Brazilian coffee is to use finely ground coffee, add the grounds to sweetened boiling water that has been sweetened with rapadura and brew with a short brew time while stirring the coffee mixture. Then stain using a cloth coffee filter. That is how the famous Brazilian cafezinho is made.

What Is A Typical ?

The typical and classic Brazilian coffee beverage is a cafezinho. It’s a small 4 Oz (120 ml) strong black coffee. The name literally translates to little coffee.

Why Is So Expensive?

Brazilian coffee is rising in price due to the increased energy cost. The price of oil forces the production cost to increase through the whole supply chain which impacts all aspects of the process from the machinery used for harvesting to even the fertilizer and pesticide used and of course the transportation and processing of the beans.

Final Thoughts – How To Make

Now that you know how to make Brazilian coffee and what beans to use for an awesome traditional cafezinho with this cafezinho recipe you can go right ahead and make it.

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Derek Marshall

Derek Marshall, a certified barista by the Specialty Coffee Association possesses over two decades of experience in specialty coffee shops. He holds professional certifications for coffee brewing and barista skills. Derek is also an author with authoritative books covering various coffee topics including specialty coffee, sustainability and coffee, coffee brewing, coffee recipes, coffee cocktails and books focusing on Brazilian coffee, Vietnamese coffee, Indonesian coffee and Malaysian coffee. As a barista for over two decades, Derek Marshall has worked in specialty coffee shops across the United Kingdom, Spain, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. His expertise extends to the distinct coffee cultures, specialty beverages, and brewing techniques of each nation. Functioning as a coffee consultant, Derek charges US$50 per hour. To learn more about Derek Marshall and Latte Love Brew, visit his About Me Page. For coffee inquiries, contact him at +34-639-410-375 or Derek@LatteLoveBrew.com, mentioning your name and location

How To Make Brazilian Coffee – A Delicious Cafezinho Recipe

What Is A ?

And Its Place In Brazilian Culture