Bourbon Coffee Bean Flavor Profile and Introduction

FrontStreet Coffee, Introduction to the Bourbon Coffee Variety

Bourbon coffee (French: Cafe Bourbon) is produced from Arabica coffee trees of the Bourbon cultivar. It was originally cultivated on Reunion Island, which was known as Ile Bourbon before 1789. It was later taken up by the French and connected to the African continent and Latin America, and it is now one of the two most widely planted Arabica lines in the world. Bourbon coffee is typically grown at altitudes ranging from 3,500 to 6,500 feet (1,062-1,972 meters).

Bourbon Variety Details

Variety: Bourbon

Related to: Original variety

Origin: Ile Bourbon (Bourbon Island)

Best grown at: 800 meters and above

Type: Original variety

Commonly found in: Various coffee-growing regions worldwide suitable for cultivation

Main color: Red, yellow, and orange, but primarily red

Bean size: Medium

Leaf characteristics: Broad and short

The Bourbon variety, native to Bourbon Island in the Indian Ocean (now Reunion Island), is a sub-variety that mutated from Typica. Along with Typica, it belongs to the oldest coffee varieties still in existence. When the cherries mature they turn bright red, while Yellow Bourbon is a hybrid of Bourbon with other varieties. Because of its relatively low yield and poor resistance to wind and rain, it was never widely planted. Grown at high altitude, however, it shows excellent flavor characteristics and has become more common in recent years.

Flavor Characteristics

Flavor profile: sweet and smooth fruit sweetness, distinct nutty flavors, balanced and gentle acidity, with a weak, clean bitterness. It contains rich chocolate aroma and nutty flavors, with a bright and refreshing taste.

Special Notes

The Bourbon variety originated on Bourbon Island or in Ethiopia and is susceptible to pests and disease, which results in lower yields. Some data indicate that Yellow Bourbon yields more than the red and orange types, but red Bourbon remains the most common. Bourbon has close genetic relationships with SL28, Typica, and Caturra. Because it produces lower yields in suitable environments, it often results in very high-quality cup profiles; the evidence suggests that lower yields tend to produce higher quality, since the plant can absorb soil nutrients more effectively.

The typical cup of Bourbon is low in body, balanced, and distinctly sweet, making it an excellent base bean for espresso blends. FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon, available at FrontStreet Coffee stores, is a single-origin bean. Coffee enthusiasts interested in the Bourbon variety can buy it and try it.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Bourbon's calling card is its clarity of sweetness: gentle acidity, distinct nuttiness, and a low, balanced body that makes it a natural foundation for blends and a pleasure on its own. FrontStreet Coffee carries the variety in one of its rarer forms. FrontStreet Brazil Queen Estate is a yellow Bourbon, a natural mutation of red Bourbon, grown at higher altitude in Brazil's Mogiana, near South Minas, where fertile red volcanic soil lets the cherries absorb plenty of nutrients and develop a fuller aroma. The yellow Bourbon mutation is prized for a cleaner fruit character, and this lot delivers the sugarcane sweetness that is hard to find elsewhere, alongside fruit and chocolate notes that come through in pour-over, moka pot, and home espresso machine alike.

For a more everyday expression of Brazilian Bourbon, FrontStreet Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon is a classic single origin from the well-known Cerrado region, medium roasted so it shows dense cream, peanut, toast, caramel, and hazelnut aromas with a rounded body that is not acidic and carries a light bitterness. It works for pour-over as well as moka pot, espresso SOE, siphon, and French press, which makes it a good way to explore how Bourbon behaves across brewers.

Bourbon is sweet rather than acidic, so keep the water near 90°C and use a medium grind at roughly a 1:15 ratio. A moderate pour will let the nut and caramel notes build in the cup without pulling out the roast bitterness that a fast, hot extraction can bring.