What Are the Flavor Characteristics of Bourbon Coffee from Different Growing Regions_How Much Does a Bag of Bourbon Coffee Beans Cost

Bourbon Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations: Which Region's Bourbon Tastes Best?

In early, pre-history times, after Typica was transplanted to Yemen it mutated from slender-pointed beans into round beans. In 1715 France transplanted Yemen Mocha round beans to Bourbon Island on the east coast of Africa (renamed Reunion Island after the French Revolution), which is how the variety got its name. The round Bourbon beans spread to Brazil and Central and South America in 1727, and in 1732 Britain transplanted Yemen Mocha to St. Helena Island (where Napoleon was later imprisoned), which was also round Bourbon. Bourbon is the perennial champion in American specialty coffee cupping competitions.

Bourbon is a sub-species resulting from a Typica mutation, and belongs with Typica to the oldest surviving coffee varieties. When green cherries mature they display a bright red color. Compared with Typica, Bourbon plants have broader leaves and grow more densely. Although its yield is higher than Typica, the harvest period is still two years, making it a low-yield variety overall. It offers excellent flavor though, with wine-like acidity and a sweet aftertaste. The beans are relatively large, uniform in size, with a consistent, glossy color. For harvesting convenience, farmers prune the trees to no more than 150 centimeters in height.

Red Bourbon

After general Bourbon trees flower and fruit, the cherries change color from green to light yellow to light orange to mature red, becoming a darker red when fully ripe. For this reason some people call it the "Red Bourbon variety." In fact, Red Bourbon is simply what we generally call the Bourbon variety. Bourbon grown at high altitude typically has better aroma, brighter acidity and even wine-like flavors in the cup.

Yellow Bourbon

Yellow Bourbon is a hybrid of Bourbon with other varieties. Because of its lower yield and weaker resistance to wind and rain, it has not been widely cultivated. When grown at high altitude, however, it shows excellent flavor and has become more common in recent years. Yellow Bourbon, with yellow mature cherries, was first discovered in Brazil and today grows mainly there. It is generally believed to have mutated from a cross between red-fruited Bourbon and a yellow-fruited Typica variety called "Amerelo de Botocatu."

French Mission Bourbon

In Africa, French missionaries known as Spiritans (from the Holy Spirit congregation) played an important role in spreading the Bourbon variety. In 1841 the first mission was established in Reunion, and a branch was established in Zanzibar in 1859. From Zanzibar, branches were set up in 1862 in Bagamoyo (Tanzania's coast, then called Tanganyika) and St. Augustine (Kikuyu, Kenya), and another branch was established in 1893 in Bura (Taita Hills, Kenya). Each branch was accompanied by the planting of coffee seeds brought from Reunion.

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

The Following All Belong to the Bourbon Variety

Brazil Red Fruit

Ancient Bourbon coffee is cultivated on some estates in the Cerrado region of Minas Gerais state in southeastern Brazil. The Cerrado plateau in western Minas and southern Minas mostly sits above 1,100 meters, with rich topography, distinct wet and dry seasons, large day-night temperature differences and abundant microclimates, making it suitable for cultivating elegant-flavored Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon. It naturally became the main production area for Brazilian specialty coffee.

Roast Level: Medium roast

Recommended Brewing Method: Pour-over

Grind Size: 4 (Fuji R440)

Water Temperature: 88°C

Dripper: V60/KONO

Dry Aroma: Nuts, cocoa

Flavor Profile: Low acidity, strong nutty flavor, excellent chocolate sweetness and body

Brazil Queen

From Fazenda Rainha (Queen Estate), which covers 280 acres in an ancient volcanic valley in Brazil called Vale da Grama. Fazenda Rainha belongs to the renowned and respected Carvalho Dias coffee family. The four major estates under Carvalho Dias have won awards every year since the first Brazil COE competition in 1999, taking more than 12 awards in 7 years. In 2004 they swept champion, 9th place, 11th place and more among the many large and small estates in Brazil.

Roast Level: Medium roast

Recommended Brewing Method: Pour-over

Grind Size: 4 (Fuji R440)

Water Temperature: 88°C

Dripper: V60/KONO

Dry Aroma: Roasted hazelnut, spices

Flavor Profile: Slight fruit acidity, nuts, creamy peanut, chocolate sweetness, high body

Kenya Chania

In Kenya, what one commonly hears about are the K72 processing method and the SL28 and SL34 varieties, so natural-processed French Mission Bourbon is quite rare. The unique red volcanic soil of Chania Estate, combined with suitable growing temperatures and rainfall, plus an excellent natural environment, creates the unique flavor of French Mission Bourbon from Chania.

Roast Level: Medium roast

Recommended Brewing Method: Pour-over

Grind Size: 3.5 (Fuji R440)

Water Temperature: 90°C

Dripper: V60

Dry Aroma: Fermentation, dried fruit, vanilla

Flavor Profile: Slurping reveals caramel, vanilla and mixed fruits, a solid juice sensation; the aftertaste has berries and thick jackfruit with coffee floral notes, showing wild African regional character overall.

Overall, Bourbon beans -- Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon and French Mission -- have similar flavors, all with distinct dark chocolate, cocoa, nut and caramel notes, smooth acidity and lower bitterness.

Bourbon grown in different regions, shaped by terroir factors such as microclimate, soil quality and growing environment, will show slight differences in flavor direction. Kenya's volcanic ash soil contains higher phosphate components, producing a French Mission with tropical fruit acidity while keeping Bourbon's flavor characteristics, making this bean even more complex. That is all for today's sharing -- we hope it helps.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To line up the Bourbon family in the cup, begin with FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon. This classic Brazilian single origin is a red Bourbon processed semi-washed and roasted to a medium level, giving cream, peanut, toasted bread, caramel and hazelnut aromas with a rounded, low-acid body and a light bitterness -- flexible enough for pour-over, moka pot, espresso SOE, siphon or French press.

For the rare yellow-fruited side of the family, choose FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen Estate. Grown in Mogiana on fertile red volcanic soil, it is a yellow Bourbon mutated from red Bourbon with a cleaner fruit character. Brew it by pour-over, moka pot or home espresso machine to find the sugarcane sweetness no other region offers, along with fruit and chocolate notes.