Introduction to Brazilian Red Bourbon Coffee Beans | The Past and Present of the Red Bourbon Coffee Bean Family

Brazil is the world's largest coffee-producing country, and FrontStreet Coffee offers both Brazilian specialty and blended beans. FrontStreet Coffee knows that many people believe Brazilian coffee beans are of poor quality because they are often used for blending, but nothing is absolute. Today, FrontStreet Coffee wants to introduce a coffee bean that is used in high volumes in our stores daily - Brazil Red Bourbon. This bean is used at FrontStreet Coffee as both a Brazilian daily coffee and for espresso blending, meaning it can be used for both pour-over and espresso!

Brazil Red Bourbon - Semi-Sun Dried

Country: Brazil

Variety: Red Bourbon

Processing: Hand-picked, then semi-sun dried

Origin: South Minas

Altitude: 700m-1200m

Processing Method: Semi-washed

Flavor: High sweetness, clean, smooth, low acidity, with tropical fruit aroma

01 | Origin Introduction

South Minas, with its hilly terrain at altitudes of 700m-1200m, is Brazil's earliest coffee production area. Due to rising labor costs, mechanical harvesting is now predominant. This area was also the first to commercialize coffee, and we can see many large exporters established here. The Bahia production region in northern Brazil mainly produces washed Brazilian coffee, while the coastal Espírito Santo region is the main export area for Brazilian Robusta varieties.

Brazil's coffee growing areas are mainly dominated by two types of terrain: the Brazilian plateau above 500 meters altitude and the Brazilian plain below 200 meters. The main varieties grown and well-known are Bourbon (including Yellow Bourbon, Red Bourbon, and Flat Bean Santos). The flavor profile of Brazilian coffee is mainly characterized by low acidity, nutty flavors, balance, and moderate body. In the world of specialty coffee, Brazilian coffee is not outstanding, but in espresso, Brazilian coffee is often used as a blending variety. Due to its high balance, it is often used by merchants as Blue Mountain style beans.

Bourbon Variety

Let me briefly explain what Bourbon coffee is. Bourbon coffee was initially cultivated on Réunion Island, which was called Bourbon Island before 1789. The Bourbon variety is a sub-species mutated from Typica, and along with Typica, belongs to the oldest existing coffee varieties. When green fruits mature, they呈现 bright red. For Red Bourbon, generally after the coffee tree flowers and bears fruit, the color change of coffee cherries goes from: green > slightly yellow > slightly orange > mature red > darker red when fully ripe, hence some call it "Red Bourbon variety." In fact, Red Bourbon is just what we generally call the Bourbon variety. Bourbon grown at high altitudes typically has better aroma, brighter acidity, and may even have wine-like flavors. Simply put, Bourbon is a coffee tree variety belonging to the Arabica species branch. It generally bears red fruits, called Red Bourbon. Besides this, there are also Yellow Bourbon and Orange Bourbon. Yellow Bourbon has relatively lower yields but better quality.

Spread Route of Bourbon Variety

Due to the low yield and disease susceptibility of the Typica variety introduced to Brazil in 1727, the Bourbon variety was introduced to Brazil around 1860 via Campinas in the south and quickly expanded northward to other regions in South and Central America. In today's Latin America, although most Bourbon has been replaced by its variants (especially Caturra, Catuai, and Mundo Novo), it is still grown in countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Peru. In Africa, French missionaries known as Spiritan (from the Holy Ghost Congregation) played an important role in spreading the Bourbon variety. In 1841, the first church was established in Réunion, and a branch was established in Zanzibar in 1859. From Zanzibar, branches were established in 1862 in Bagamoyo (coastal Tanzania, then called Tanganyika) and St. Augustine (Kikuyu, Kenya), and another branch was established in 1893 in Bura (Taita Hills, Kenya). The establishment of each branch was accompanied by the planting of coffee seeds brought from Réunion.

In 1899, seedlings cultivated in Bura were brought to another French mission in Santa Cruz (near Nairobi). In 1900, they were introduced to the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania, and seeds were distributed to local residents willing to grow coffee. This is the origin of what is called "Missionary Bourbon." Then the Kent variety was also introduced in 1920. Therefore, until now, coffee in Tanzania is still mainly Bourbon and Kent.

—French Bourbon colony—1860: Pointed Bourbon to New Caledonia—Yemen—1732: Round Bourbon to British St. Helena Island—1860: Round Bourbon to Brazil—1900: Round Bourbon to Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania—After 2000: Pointed Bourbon to Colombia

03 | Processing Method Introduction

Semi-washed method: After harvesting coffee cherries, unripe fruits and foreign matter are removed through water channels, then the outer skin and part of the pulp are removed, followed by using a mucilage remover to eliminate the mucilage. Removing mucilage helps reduce the required sun-drying time and lowers the risk of fermentation. This method is often used when climate conditions are not ideal. If air humidity is high, the climate is warm, or there is rainfall, there is a risk of mold during the drying process. Therefore, most washed beans used for commodity trade in Brazil are processed using the semi-washed method.

04 | FrontStreet Coffee Green Bean Analysis

Brazilian coffee comes in numerous varieties, with sun-drying being the main processing method, classified by origin state name and transport port. Due to scattered production areas and uneven quality, classification standards are not uniform: classified by impurity content from NO.2 to NO., and by bean size from NO.13 to NO.19. The Brazilian grading system targets defect ratio, size, flavor, and taste scores, forming its independent grading system, more complex than other countries. For example, "Brasil Santos NY 2 SC17/18 SS FC" - NY2 is the defect ratio grading: larger numbers represent higher defect ratios. The sequence is 2, 2/3, 3, 3/4... NY indicates it's based on New York grading standards. SC 17/18 indicates coffee bean size. SS FC (Strictly Soft and Fine Cup) represents flavor and taste, divided into two groups in this classification: First group - Strictly Soft, Soft, Softish, Hard, Hardish, Rioy/Rioysh, Rio; Second group - divided into Fine Cup and Good cup. Brazilian coffee's main characteristics are high sweetness, clean, smooth, low acidity, with quite broad uses, widely loved by the general public.

05 | FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Analysis - Roaster: Yangjia 600g Semi-direct Fire

Brazilian coffee generally grows at altitudes of 1000-1300 meters, so its density is relatively low, moisture content is moderate, bean texture is relatively soft, and the thickness from bean surface to core is thinner, so it's not suitable for roasting at too high temperatures, which would create burnt bitterness. We choose a medium-fire bean entry method, maintaining heat until the dehydration stage. After the first crack begins, we make fine adjustments as temperature rises to promote more complete caramelization. This semi-washed bean heats up slowly after the first crack, and can be discharged before approaching the second crack. Preheat the roaster to 200°C, open the air vent to 3, turn on the fire after 30 seconds, adjust heat to 160, keep the air vent unchanged. Return temperature point at 1'30", maintain heat. Turn yellow at 5'00", grassy smell disappears, entering the dehydration stage. Heat is reduced to 130, air vent opened to 4. When reaching 168°C, heat is reduced again to 100. At 8'00", dehydration is complete, bean surface shows wrinkles and black markings, toast aroma turns to coffee aroma, which is the prelude to the first crack. At this time, pay attention to listen for the sound of the first crack. The first crack starts at 8'50", air vent fully opened to 5. Development time after first crack is 3 minutes and 10 seconds. When reaching 190°C, heat is reduced to 50, and at 194°C reduced again to 30, discharged at about 200°C.

This is a flavor-balanced coffee with typical Brazilian coffee style. Nut and chocolate flavors are prominent, with low acidity.

06 | FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Parameters

Recommended brewing method: Pour-over

Grind size: 4 (Japan Fuji R440)

Water temperature: 89°C

V60 dripper, 15g coffee, water temperature 90-91°C, grind 3.5, water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15, 30g water for bloom, bloom time 30s.分段: pour water to 120ml then stop, slowly pour water to 225ml (30-120-75), total extraction time 2 minutes.

Other drip extraction suggestions: French press, recommend grind 3.5-4 / water temperature 90°C. AeroPress, recommend grind 2.5, water temperature 90°C.

【Espresso #2】

Colombia and Brazil blend has natural sweetness, with some nutty, peach, and almond flavors, caramel sweetness, chocolate-like silkiness, with noticeable balance. Today when adjusting the grind, for the first time I tried a double portafilter with 1.9 grind size and 21.5g dose, but found the dose was too high with no liquid output after 5 seconds. By reducing the dose to 20.5g with the same grind size, I extracted 42g espresso in 28 seconds using a 1:2 ratio.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473