History and Classification of Sugarcane

Early records suggest that sugarcane originated in New Guinea, then spread to other parts of Asia, mainly India. As for its classification, people believe that the cane is a grass, even some ancient literature has this description. In fact, it belongs to the Poaceae family, Panacoideae subfamily, Andropogoneae tribe and its genus is Saccharum L. Sugarcane is considered a semi-perennial plant because its productivity drops with each cut, requiring a renewal of the sugarcane field each time. 4-5 years to maintain good productivity.

Photo of our Organic Sugarcane at the Farm Espírito.

In Brazil, it was brought by the Portuguese with the intention of producing sugar, a highly valued and appreciated product in the world. There was quickly the emergence of several mills along with a need for manpower; unfortunately supplied by slave traders. Sugarcane brought a lot of wealth and development to Brazil, being a period of many political, social and economic changes. In the next posts I will continue to bring the history of the Mandelli Family and curiosities from our sugarcane to the production of cachaça. I am Róbinson Mandelli, cachacist, researcher and passionate about the magic of the noblest of spirits, our very Brazilian cachaça. Thank you everyone and see you soon!