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

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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 to typical Bourbon varieties, Laurina features smaller leaves, smaller and pointed coffee cherries, and a tree shape resembling a Christmas tree, hence its name Laurina (scientific name: Laurina). It is the most primitive Bourbon sub-variety, originating from Réunion Island near Madagascar. The coffee trees' leaves and plants are smaller than typical varieties, with smaller and pointed coffee beans. 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, with extremely low production, excellent flavor, and commanding high prices. It was deeply loved by European royalty. Louis XV of the Bourbon Dynasty declared it the world's finest coffee, attracting nobility and aristocrats who 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

Until 1999, Japanese coffee experts traveled to the island seeking traces of this coffee but returned 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 natural 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 rich texture.

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