Brazilian Semi-Washed Bourbon Flavor Description Which Brazilian Coffee Brand is Best

Hand-Pour Brazil Coffee Brewing

15g of coffee grounds, medium grind (setting 4 on a small Fuji ghost-tooth grinder), V60 dripper, water temperature 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 27 seconds. Pour to 105g and stop. Wait until the water level drops halfway, then continue pouring slowly until you reach 225g in total. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Bourbon Variety

Variety: Bourbon-related

Origin: Original variety from Bourbon Island

Optimal Growing Altitude: 800 meters and above

Type: Original variety

Common in: Various coffee-growing regions worldwide

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

Fruit Size: Average

Leaf Characteristics: Broad and short

Special Notes: Particularly noteworthy

The Bourbon variety originates from Bourbon Island or Ethiopia. It is susceptible to pests and disease and yields relatively little. Some data suggests that Yellow Bourbon produces more than Red Bourbon or Orange Bourbon, but Red Bourbon remains the most common. Bourbon is closely related genetically to SL28, Typica and Catuaí. Because it yields less in suitable environments, it often delivers exceptionally high-quality cup profiles — evidence that lower yields can mean higher quality, since the plant is better able to absorb soil nutrients.

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

Catuaí Variety

Catuaí is a coffee variety created as an artificial hybrid between Caturra and Mundo Novo. It stands up well to natural disasters, with particularly strong resistance to wind and rain.

The Catuaí tree grows relatively low. Compared with other coffee trees, Catuaí's fruit hangs on more firmly and is not easy to pick. The fruit comes in both red and yellow types. To date, no evidence has been found that yellow fruit tastes better than red; in fact, some cuppers have found that although coffee processed from yellow fruit has good acidity, its cup cleanliness falls short of red fruit.

Catuaí was first cultivated in Brazil and is now widely grown in Central America as well.

Product Information

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee

Shelf Life: 30 days

Net Weight: 227g

Packaging: Bulk

Taste Profile: Sweet coffee beans

Coffee Bean State: Roasted coffee beans

Sugar Content: Sugar-free

Origin: Brazil

Coffee Type: Bourbon coffee

Roast Level: Medium roast

Coffee Origin Details

Country: Brazil

Grade: SC14/SC16

Region: Southern Minas

Roast Level: Medium roast

Processing Method: Pulped natural

Varieties: Bourbon, Catuaí

Altitude: 1000-1200 meters

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

In the Cerrado plateau of western Minas and in Southern Minas, altitudes mostly exceed 1100 meters. The terrain is varied, with clearly defined wet and dry seasons, wide day-night temperature swings and abundant microclimates, all of which suits elegant Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon. This area naturally became Brazil's main specialty coffee region. Mogiana, in northeastern São Paulo province, also focuses on shade-grown Bourbon, ranking alongside Cerrado and Southern Minas as one of Brazil's three major specialty regions.

Brazil's terrain is relatively flat, with most coffee farms sitting at around 600-1000 meters. The landscape is flat and monotonous, lacking microclimates. Full-sun cultivation has also given Brazilian coffee its distinctive soft-bean profile — low acidity, heavy nutty notes, chocolate sweetness and good body, but with faint woody and earthy notes and without prominent floral or citrus aromas.

Minas Gerais lies in the heartland of the Brazilian plateau in southeastern South America, producing more than half of Brazil's high-quality Arabica.

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

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

This article's bean is a pulped natural Bourbon from Southern Minas — a semi-washed, sweet-and-clean Brazilian cup. The closest match at FrontStreet is the FrontStreet Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon, a classic single-origin showing of the Cerrado region. Roasted medium, it opens up creamy peanut, toast, caramel and hazelnut, rounded and low in acidity with only a faint bitter edge, and it brews just as well in a moka pot, siphon, French press or as an espresso SOE.

If you want to taste how Bourbon behaves when the genetics shift, the FrontStreet Brazil Queen Estate is a rare Yellow Bourbon grown on the red volcanic soil of Mogiana, near Southern Minas. It brings the sugarcane sweetness you would not find elsewhere, alongside fruit and chocolate, and it drinks beautifully as a pour-over, in a moka pot or on a home espresso machine.