Naturally Low-Caffeine Coffee: Laurina - The Most Original Bourbon Subspecies, the 'Parent' of Mocha Varieties

History of Bourbon Island

Bourbon Island became a French territory in 1664, named after the Bourbon Dynasty to showcase French dominance. It was renamed Réunion Island after the French Revolution in 1792.

Origin and Characteristics of Laurina

In the 18th century, the French cultivated coffee on Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean, then known as Bourbon Island. The coffee trees underwent genetic variation. Compared with typical Bourbon varieties, Laurina has smaller leaves and smaller, pointed coffee cherries, with a tree shape resembling a Christmas tree - hence the name Laurina. It is the most primitive Bourbon sub-variety, originating from Réunion Island near Madagascar. Its leaves and plants are smaller than typical varieties, and its coffee beans are smaller and pointed. It is said to be one of the parent varieties of Mocha and the source of Latin American coffee trees.

Royal Heritage and Decline

In the 18th century, Laurina coffee was extremely precious: production was very low, flavor was excellent, and prices were high. It was deeply loved by European royalty. Louis XV of the Bourbon Dynasty declared it the world's finest coffee, and nobility and aristocrats sought it eagerly.

In the mid-19th century, several powerful hurricanes and coffee tree diseases nearly destroyed the coffee cultivation industry. Laurina disappeared from the world coffee stage, becoming history and legend.

Rediscovery and Revival

It wasn't until 1999 that Japanese coffee experts traveled to the island seeking traces of this coffee, only to return empty-handed. Later, local botanists on the island, after years of effort, finally found these unique wild mother trees, allowing the variety to be gradually cultivated and beginning its path to revival.

Natural Low-Caffeine Properties

It wasn't until the 20th century that scientists discovered Laurina's caffeine content is only half that of typical Arabica coffee.

Typical Arabica coffee contains about 1.2% caffeine, Robusta contains 2.2%, while Laurina contains only 0.6%, making it a naturally low-caffeine coffee variety.

FrontStreet Coffee Laurina

Flavor profile: peach, honey pomelo, wild apple, orchid aroma.

The taste is like hundred-flower honey entering the mouth, with a rich texture.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Laurina's story is a reminder that a single Bourbon sub-variety can carry a whole history, and rare varieties are often where the most distinctive cups are found. For readers drawn to that idea, FrontStreet Boquete Geisha is an excellent place to begin: a Panamanian Geisha from the country's most representative specialty region, with pure varietal genetics and washed processing, so you can taste the classic orange-blossom honey character and delicate fruit acidity clearly, whatever brewing method you choose - and at a price that makes it a realistic everyday bean.

If you would rather stay on the Bourbon branch of the family tree, FrontStreet Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon is a fitting counterpart. Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer, and its coffees tend to be soft in acidity and generous in sweetness, with a gentle, well-balanced cup; this Cerrado single origin shows the classic cream, peanut and cocoa flavors that make Brazilian coffee such an easy daily drink.