Brown is one of the most useful colours for natural builds in Minecraft. Brown wool, terracotta, concrete and glass blend well with wood, dirt and stone, which makes brown dye perfect for rustic houses, farms, cabins and earthy decorations. It is also one of the dyes with a single, simple source. This guide explains how to make brown dye in Minecraft, where to find cocoa beans, how to farm them and what you can dye brown.
Quick answer
Put 1 cocoa bean in any crafting grid. You get 1 brown dye.
Where to find cocoa beans
Cocoa beans grow as small pods on the trunks of jungle trees. Look in jungle, sparse jungle and bamboo jungle biomes. The pods are green when young, then turn yellow-orange and finally brown when fully grown. Break a fully grown pod to get 2 to 3 cocoa beans. Breaking a young pod gives only 1.
You can also sometimes buy cocoa beans from wandering traders.
How to farm cocoa beans
- Collect a few cocoa beans and some jungle logs. Stripped jungle logs and jungle wood also work.
- Place jungle logs in a column or wall.
- Use cocoa beans on the sides of the jungle logs. A pod appears.
- Wait for the pods to grow, or use bone meal to speed them up.
- Harvest fully grown brown pods for 2 to 3 beans each.
- Replant some beans to keep the farm going.
Cocoa pods only grow on jungle logs, not other wood. They do not need light or water, so you can build a cocoa farm indoors or underground. An automatic farm with observers and pistons can break pods when they grow, and hoppers collect the beans.
What you can dye brown
- Wool: 1 wool + 1 brown dye. Or dye a sheep brown so it grows brown wool every time you shear it. Rarely, brown sheep also spawn naturally. See what sheep eat.
- Terracotta: 8 terracotta + 1 dye make 8 brown terracotta. Smelt for brown glazed terracotta. See how to make terracotta.
- Concrete powder: 4 sand, 4 gravel and 1 dye make 8. Add water to set it. See how to make concrete.
- Stained glass: 8 glass + 1 dye. See how to make glass.
- Beds, carpets, candles, banners, shulker boxes, firework stars and leather armour.
- Dog and cat collars.
Other uses for cocoa beans
- Cookies: 2 wheat and 1 cocoa bean make 8 cookies. Never feed cookies to parrots; they are poisonous to them.
- Composting: cocoa beans can go into a composter.
- Decoration: cocoa pods on jungle logs look great in jungle builds and treehouses.
Building with brown
- Brown terracotta and spruce wood for cabins and lodges.
- Brown wool carpet for cosy floors in a farmhouse.
- Brown concrete for modern roofs and paths.
- Brown stained glass for warm, amber-tinted windows in a library or tavern.
- Brown and green banners for a forest village.
For more ideas, see what to build in Minecraft.
Brown dye compared with other dyes
| Dye | Main source |
|---|---|
| Brown | Cocoa beans |
| Black | Ink sacs or wither roses |
| White | Bone meal or lily of the valley |
| Green | Smelting cactus |
| Cyan | Blue plus green dye, or a pitcher plant |
| Purple | Red plus blue dye |
See the full Minecraft dye guide and guides to black, white, green, cyan and purple dye.
Can you mix brown dye?
There is no vanilla recipe that makes brown dye by mixing other dyes; it only comes from cocoa beans. You can, however, combine brown with other dyes when dyeing leather armour to make custom shades.
Common problems
- Cannot place cocoa beans: they only go on the side of jungle logs, jungle wood or their stripped versions.
- Only getting 1 bean per pod: wait until the pod is fully brown before breaking it.
- No jungle nearby: explore warm areas or check a wandering trader for cocoa beans.
Tips
- Bring jungle saplings home from your first jungle trip so you can grow your own jungle trees for cocoa.
- A 2 by 2 jungle sapling grows a giant jungle tree with lots of trunk space for pods.
- Dye a few sheep brown for a steady supply of brown wool without using more beans.
Step by step: your first brown dye
- Travel to a jungle. Jungles are warm, green biomes with very tall trees, vines and melons.
- Look closely at the trunks of the big jungle trees for small green or brown pods.
- Break the brown pods for cocoa beans.
- Open your crafting grid and put a cocoa bean in any slot.
- Take your brown dye.
While you are in the jungle, collect a few jungle saplings and jungle logs so you can grow cocoa at home.
How many cocoa beans do you need?
One cocoa bean gives one dye, and one dye colours 8 blocks of terracotta, glass or concrete powder. So 8 beans can colour 64 blocks. For a medium-sized cabin with brown roof and floors, around 20 to 30 beans is a good amount. A small cocoa farm with 20 pods can give you that many in one harvest.
Building a simple cocoa farm
Make a wall of jungle logs 4 blocks wide and 3 blocks tall. Plant cocoa beans on every free side of the logs. Stand on the other side with bone meal to grow them fast. Harvest the pods when they turn brown, then replant. Placing a water stream at the bottom and a hopper at the end of it collects the beans for you when you break the pods.
Brown sheep
Brown sheep spawn naturally, but rarely. If you find one, breed it with another sheep and some of the lambs will be brown. Mixing a brown sheep with a white sheep gives either brown or white lambs, so you can build a flock of brown sheep without using any dye.
Brown dye FAQ for builders
Many builders ask whether brown dye changes shade between wool, concrete and terracotta. It does: brown wool is a warm chocolate, brown concrete is a darker reddish brown, and brown terracotta is closer to a muted clay. Natural terracotta from badlands is a different, lighter orange brown and needs no dye at all. Mixing these shades in one build makes a roof, path or wall feel more natural than using a single block. Try layering brown wool carpet over brown terracotta for floors that look soft and worn.
FAQ
How do you make brown dye in Minecraft?
Put 1 cocoa bean in a crafting grid to get 1 brown dye.
Where do you find cocoa beans?
On the side of jungle tree trunks in jungle biomes.
Can you plant cocoa beans on any log?
No. Only on jungle logs, jungle wood and their stripped versions.
How many cocoa beans does a pod drop?
A fully grown pod drops 2 to 3 beans.
Can you mix dyes to make brown?
No. Brown dye only comes from cocoa beans.
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