Brazilian Semi-Washed Bourbon Bean Characteristics and Brewing Methods

Coffee Origin Details

Country: Brazil

Grade: SC14/SC16

Region: South Minas

Roast Level: 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 lingering notes.

Brazil's Coffee Growing Regions

The Cerrado plateau in western Minas and South Minas typically sit above 1100 meters, with varied topography, distinct wet and dry seasons, significant day-night temperature swings, and abundant microclimates. These conditions suit the elegant Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon varieties perfectly, making them Brazil's main specialty coffee regions. Mogiana in northeastern São Paulo state also grows shade-grown Bourbon, rounding out Cerrado and South Minas as Brazil's three great specialty regions.

Brazil's terrain is generally flat, with most coffee farms at altitudes between 600-1000 meters. The flat, monotonous landscape lacks microclimates, and farmers typically grow without shade. The result is Brazil's signature soft-bean profile: low acidity, prominent nuttiness, chocolate sweetness, and excellent body — though sometimes with woody, earthy undertones and less pronounced floral and citrus aromas.

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

The Santo Antônio do Amparo region, winner of the 2016 Brazil Cup of Excellence, belongs to the core South Minas producing area, near the headquarters of the Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA).

Brewing Method

To brew Brazilian coffee by hand: dose 15g of coffee at a medium grind (Fuji ghost-tooth grinder at setting #4) into a V60 dripper, with water at 88-89°C. Start with a 30g pour and a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Once the water level drops to half, pour slowly up to 225g. Skip the tail end. Use a 1:15 water-to-coffee ratio with a total extraction time of 2:00.

Coffee Varieties

Bourbon and Related Varieties:

Original Origin: Bourbon Island

Optimal Growing Conditions: 800 meters and above

Type: Original variety

Commonly Found In: Coffee-growing regions worldwide

Main Colors: Red, yellow, and orange fruits, predominantly red

Bean Size: Average

Leaf Characteristics: Broad and short

Special Notes: Bourbon traces back to Bourbon Island (or, by some accounts, Ethiopia). It is susceptible to pests and diseases and yields relatively little. Some data suggests Yellow Bourbon out-yields Red and Orange Bourbon, but Red Bourbon remains the most common. Bourbon is closely related to SL28, Typica, and Catuai. Because of its modest yields in suitable environments, it often produces exceptionally high cup quality — evidence suggests lower yields concentrate quality, as the plants absorb soil nutrients more effectively.

Typical Bourbon cup characteristics include low body, a balanced flavor profile, and distinct sweetness, making it an excellent base bean for espresso blends.

Catuai: Catuai is a coffee variety developed through artificial hybridization of Mundo Novo and Caturra. It shows good resistance to natural stresses, particularly strong resistance to wind and rain.

Catuai trees are relatively compact compared to other varieties, and the fruit attaches firmly, making picking somewhat harder. The cherries come in both red and yellow forms. To date, no evidence shows that yellow fruit tastes better than red; in fact, some cupping tests suggest that while yellow-fruit coffee can have good acidity, its cup cleanliness falls short of red-fruited lots.

Catuai was bred in Brazil and is now widely grown throughout Central America as well.

Product Information

Roaster: FrontStreet Coffee

Shelf Life: 30 days

Net Weight: 227g

Packaging: Bulk

Flavor Profile: Sweet coffee beans

Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans

Sugar Content: Sugar-free

Origin: Brazil

Coffee Type: Bourbon coffee

Roast Degree: Medium roast

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For a classic taste of Brazil's pulped-natural style, FrontStreet Coffee's semi-washed Cerrado Red Bourbon is a benchmark single origin. Roasted medium, it releases creamy peanut, toasted bread, caramel, and hazelnut aromas, with a round, low-acid body and just a whisper of bitterness. Beyond pour-over, it shines in a moka pot, as an espresso SOE, in a siphon, or in a French press.

If you want to explore Brazil's rarer side, FrontStreet Coffee's Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon from Mogiana grows in the region's fertile red volcanic soil, and the yellow mutation of Red Bourbon gives a cleaner fruit expression — sugarcane sweetness layered with fruit and chocolate notes, whether brewed by hand, in a moka pot, or through a home espresso machine. Brazil's balance and low acidity also make it the backbone of FrontStreet's espresso blends, where it contributes chocolate and cream aromas along with extraction stability.