norte pioneiro do paraná
The tropic of Capricorn runs through Norte Pioneiro do Paraná, making it one of the few places on earth where coffee is grown outside of the tropics. As a result. the region has four distinct seasons, a rarity in coffee growing. Although this presents a particular set of challenges, it can also lead to unique singular flavor profiles in the hands of a skilled grower.
Great coffees from Norte Pioneiro do Paraná are chocolatey with light citric notes and a creamy body.
Norte Pioneiro do Paraná includes 45 municipalities and extends over 155,000 hectares (383,013 acres), from just over 23 °S to just under 24 °S, with altitudes ranging from 500 to 900 masl. Despite the lower altitudes, lower temperatures (in Jacarezinho, average monthly temperatures range from 25 °C [77 °F] in January to 17 °C [62.6 °F] in June) and fertile soils favor the production of high-quality coffees.
The state of Paraná currently produces less than three percent of Brazilian coffee annually, making it sixth in state production. But in spite of its ranking, and owing to Brazil’s prowess as a global coffee giant, Paraná’s coffee economy has nonetheless been the driving force behind the growth of metropolitan areas like Londrina, Maringa, and Jacarezinho, which expanded rapidly after the arrival of coffee in the 1930s, fueled by the region’s fertile soils as well as massive immigration from Italy, Japan, and elsewhere. By the 1970s, Paraná was the leading coffee producer in Brazil, producing half of the country’s total production. But that changed on July 18, 1975, when a black frost—which causes the internal freezing of the plant, resulting in plant death—wiped out the coffee industry in Paraná. Most growers either changed crops or took their coffee production elsewhere.
Nonetheless, coffee production in Paraná has continued, and research institutions like the Parana Agronomic Institute (Instituto Agronômica do Paraná, IAPAR) have supported improvements in crop quality and crop resistance. In recent decades, there has been a resurgence in coffee production in Norte Pioneiro do Paraná with a focus on quality, culminating in the establishment of a Geographic Indication in 2012.
