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In early August, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods, amid tensions with Brazil’s left-wing leader, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. This move dealt a severe blow to Brazil’s premium coffee brands, which rely heavily on American consumers.

However, as Brazil’s high-end coffee exports began to plummet, one exceptional coffee variety defied the downturn by captivating consumers in Japan, the UK, and increasingly within Brazil itself.

Americans have shown little enthusiasm for Jacu Bird Coffee, a premium Arabica coffee produced from beans consumed, digested, and excreted by a native bird species of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. This unique process precedes the beans’ transformation into a brew.

“Americans… don’t share the same perspective as the Japanese, Asians, Saudis, or Europeans in seeking out this level of quality,” explains Henrique Sloper, a Jacu Bird Coffee producer. “For us, this tariff has no impact on this specific product.”

Jacu Bird Coffee is prized for its balanced aroma and acidity, qualities derived from the beans’ absorption capabilities and the bird’s digestive process, according to Rogerio Lemke, agricultural supervisor at Fazenda Camocim, the farm behind this coffee’s production.

“The Jacu bird not only consumes coffee cherries but also various fruits, and within its stomach, the coffee beans absorb the characteristics of these fruits,” Lemke explains, standing beside a drying area filled with Jacu droppings.

While Jacu Bird Coffee commands prices up to £960 (approximately $1,300) per kilogram and remains unaffected in sales, the broader Brazilian specialty coffee sector faces a different reality.

According to the Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association, August exports of specialty coffee from Brazil—the world’s top coffee producer—to the U.S.—the largest coffee consumer—plummeted by nearly 70% compared to July.

Although the association has yet to release September export figures, the outlook for Brazil’s specialty coffee remains grim, Marcio Ferreira, president of the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafe), told Reuters earlier this month.

Source: Reuters