Brazilian Pulped Natural Bourbon Pour-Over Data & Brewing Guide

Bourbon Variety Information

Variety: Bourbon
Lineage: Original variety
Origin: Bourbon Island
Optimal growing altitude: 800 meters and above
Type: Original variety
Commonly found in: Coffee-growing regions worldwide
Fruit color: Reddish-yellow and orange, but predominantly red
Leaf size: Regular
Bean shape: Broad and short
Special notes:

The Bourbon variety originates from Bourbon Island or Ethiopia. It is susceptible to pests and disease and yields less than many modern cultivars. Some sources indicate that Yellow Bourbon out-yields both Red and Orange Bourbon, yet Red Bourbon remains the most common. Bourbon is genetically close to SL28, Typica and Caturra. Because it produces comparatively little fruit in favorable conditions, it often delivers an exceptionally high-quality cup — the evidence suggesting that lower yields tend to mean higher quality, since the plant can draw more effectively on soil nutrients.

Typical Bourbon cup characteristics are low body, balanced flavor and distinct sweetness, which makes it an excellent base bean for espresso blends.

Catuai Variety

Catuai is a coffee variety artificially hybridized from Caturra and Mundo Novo. It handles natural disasters well, particularly wind and rain.

Catuai trees are relatively short. Compared with other coffee trees, the fruit sets more firmly and is harder to strip at harvest. The cherries come in red and yellow versions, and to date no evidence has shown that yellow fruit tastes better than red. In fact, some cup evaluations have found that coffee from yellow fruit may have good acidity, but its cup cleanliness is inferior to that of red fruit.

Catuai was first cultivated in Brazil and is now widely grown throughout Central America.

FrontStreet Coffee Brazilian Semi-Washed Bourbon

Product Name: FrontStreet Coffee · Brazilian Semi-Washed Bourbon

Manufacturer: Dazhen Coffee FrontStreet Coffee
Shelf life: 30 days
Net weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk
Taste profile: Sweet coffee beans
Roast level: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar content: Sugar-free
Origin: Brazil
Coffee type: Bourbon coffee
Roast degree: Medium roast

Country: Brazil

Grade: SC14/SC16

Region: South Minas

Roast degree: Medium roast

Processing method: Pulped natural

Varieties: Bourbon, Catuai

Altitude: 1000–1200 meters

Flavor profile: Roasted melon seeds, rich and full-bodied, dark chocolate, sweet aftertaste with a lingering finish.

Brazil's Coffee Growing Regions

The Cerrado plateau in western Minas and South Minas sit mostly above 1,100 meters, with rich topography, sharply divided wet and dry seasons, wide day-night temperature swings and plenty of microclimates. Those conditions suit elegant Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon, and the areas naturally became Brazil's main specialty coffee regions. Mogiana, in northeastern São Paulo province, also concentrates on shade-grown Bourbon and ranks alongside Cerrado and South Minas as one of Brazil's three major specialty producing regions.

Brazil's terrain is generally flat, with coffee farms mostly at 600–1,000 meters. Flat, monotonous land offers few microclimates, and the traditional practice of growing coffee without shade trees has produced Brazil's distinctive "soft bean" profile: low acidity, heavy nut aromas, chocolate sweetness and good body, with slight woody and earthy notes, while floral and citrus aromas stay in the background.

Minas Gerais state lies in the heart of the Brazilian plateau in southeastern South America and produces more than half of Brazil's high-quality Arabica coffee.

The Santo Antônio do Amparo region, which recently took the 2016 Brazil Cup of Excellence award, belongs to the core South Minas producing region, close to the headquarters of the Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA).

Brewing Instructions

Hand-brewed FrontStreet Coffee Brazilian Semi-Washed Bourbon: 15g of coffee grounds, medium grind (Fujimaruki conical burr grinder setting 4), V60 dripper, water temperature 88–89°C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. When the water level drops to halfway, resume a slow pour until the total reaches 225g. Avoid the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, total extraction time 2:00.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this pulped natural Bourbon's chocolate sweetness and low-acid balance are what you enjoy, these FrontStreet Brazilian lots explore the same ground.

FrontStreet Brazil Cerrado Pulped Natural

A classic Brazilian single origin and an easy introduction to the region. Cerrado is a well-known growing area prized for high-quality beans, and this lot is the common South American Red Bourbon, roasted medium. Expect generous aromas of peanut brittle, toast, caramel and hazelnut, a round, gentle cup with no acidity and a light bitter edge. It works as pour-over but is equally at home in a moka pot, as an espresso SOE, in a siphon or in a French press.

FrontStreet Brazil Queen's Estate Yellow Bourbon

From Mogiana, close to South Minas, where fertile red volcanic soil lets the fruit take up abundant nutrients and develop full aroma. The region blends traditional farm practice with modern, standardized management, and the cup shows a rare sugarcane-like sweetness that other origins rarely deliver, alongside fruit and chocolate. Yellow Bourbon arose as a natural mutation of Red Bourbon and tends to give a cleaner fruit character. Try it as pour-over, in a moka pot or on a home espresso machine.

FrontStreet Black Cocoa Blend

Low acidity, balance and an approachable price make Brazilian coffee the first choice in many espresso recipes, and this blend is a barista favorite. Built around Brazilian beans, it layers chocolate and cream aromas over soft sweet-sour-bitterness, and that even profile makes extraction more stable.