Origin of Yellow Bourbon Coffee Bean Name and Basic Characteristics of Yellow Bourbon Variety

Yellow Bourbon (Bourbon Amarello), also translated as Yellow Bourbon in English, is a yellow-skinned Bourbon variety unique to the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Typically, coffee cherries turn red when ripe, but Yellow Bourbon does not turn red when mature, instead displaying an orange-yellow color, hence its name. The flavor characteristics of Yellow Bourbon are quite elegant in cupping, with prominent sweetness, aroma, and acidity. FrontStreet Coffee's Brazilian Queen Estate coffee beans are selected from the rare Yellow Bourbon.

FrontStreet Coffee: Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon Coffee Beans

Region: Mogiana region
Estate: Fazenda Rainha (Queen Estate)
Altitude: 1400-1950m
Variety: Yellow Bourbon
Processing: Natural processing
Flavor: Nuts, chocolate, cream, peanut, sugarcane

Through research, FrontStreet Coffee learned that the world's Arabica coffee varieties consist of Typica and Bourbon, as well as their descendants. Bourbon is mainly popular in Central and South American countries and is one of Brazil's main varieties. The name Bourbon originates from Bourbon Island, which is Réunion Island located off the east coast of Africa. In the 17th century, as a French territory, it was named Bourbon Island until the late 18th century when it was renamed. In the 18th century, the French introduced round coffee beans from Yemen to Bourbon Island where they began to take root and grow. It wasn't until 1860 that Brazil brought round Bourbon back to the country for cultivation, and it subsequently spread to various countries in Central and South America, becoming the most ancient Latin American coffee parent variety.

The Bourbon variety's cherries are small and round, with high-density coffee beans. Bourbon grown at high altitudes has high sweetness and bright acidity. Like Typica, Bourbon is also an ancient, excellent variety. Bourbon has better resistance to leaf rust than Typica, and its flavor is no less impressive than Typica's. Common Bourbon cherries gradually change color from green to light yellow, then red, and finally to deep red when fully mature, hence called Red Bourbon. There are also Bourbon varieties that don't turn red when mature, instead becoming the rarer yellow or pink colors, namely Yellow Bourbon and Pink Bourbon.

The "yellow" color of Yellow Bourbon is determined by genetic selection for color. Yellow Bourbon grown in high-altitude areas contains high amounts of fructose, presenting a sweet, juicy, and delicate flavor profile, which has won multiple top honors in Brazil's Cup of Excellence competitions.

After harvesting the mature Yellow Bourbon coffee cherries, Queen Estate uses natural processing, allowing the coffee cherries to absorb more fruit pulp sweetness during the drying process. Brazil is located near the equator, and since the harvest season coincides with the dry season, coffee cherries are very suitable for direct dehydration and drying through sun exposure. However, traditional "sun-drying" methods are quite crude, with cherries being poured directly onto muddy ground for drying, resulting in coffee that can easily mix with earthy flavors and produce over-fermented negative aromas due to uneven heating. Queen Estate first pours the coffee cherries into water tanks, removing insufficiently ripe cherries through flotation. Then, the coffee is processed in small batches on African raised beds with better air permeability, with regular turning, thus avoiding earthy and over-fermented flavors. The sweetness is also elevated to a higher level than traditional natural processing.

Due to the high density and glucose content of Yellow Bourbon coffee beans grown at high altitudes, FrontStreet Coffee's roasting approach is to highlight the classic mellow aroma of Brazilian coffee while showcasing Bourbon's inherent sweetness. After multiple experiments and cupping comparisons, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen Estate coffee beans use medium-dark roasting. Medium roasted coffee significantly changes the internal structure of the beans, making them more porous, and when ground into coffee powder, they have stronger water absorption. If brewing parameters are not properly adjusted, the coffee can easily become over-extracted and bitter. To achieve sufficient aroma without over-extraction, it's necessary to reduce the extraction rate. FrontStreet Coffee uses slightly lower water temperature and coarser grind size to reduce the release of large bitter molecules from the coffee. Combined with extraction using a KONO dripper, this enhances the coffee's body and smoothness.

Pour-over Parameters:

Water temperature: 87-88°C
Dripper: KONO
Grind: Medium (70% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve)
Coffee dose: 15 grams
Ratio: 1:15 (coffee to water)
Pouring method: Three-stage pour

Use twice the amount of water as the coffee dose to wet the coffee bed, forming a dome for a 30-second bloom. Then, using a small water stream, pour in circles from inside to out to 125g for the first stage. Wait until the coffee bed drops to half the dripper's height, then continue with the same fine stream to pour the third stage to 225g. Remove the dripper once all the coffee liquid has filtered through, taking about 2 minutes. Finally, shake the coffee in the server to mix evenly and enjoy~

The pour-over Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon coffee presents aromas of dark chocolate, cream, peanut, and nuts. The entrance is as refreshingly sweet as sugarcane, with a balanced mouthfeel and bright flavors, leaving a persistent aftertaste in the mouth.

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Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473