The Relationship Between Bourbon and Typica_Comparison of Red Bourbon Coffee's Unique Characteristics_Is Red Bourbon Coffee Expensive

Bourbon Variety: An Elite Coffee Cultivar

The Bourbon variety is a sub-species that mutated from Typica, and together with Typica it belongs to the oldest coffee varieties still in cultivation. When its green cherries mature, they turn bright red. Compared to Typica, Bourbon plants have broader leaves and grow more densely. Yields are higher than Typica's, but the harvest cycle is likewise two years, so it remains a low-yield variety. In return it offers exceptional quality: wine-like acidity and a sweet aftertaste. Bourbon beans are typically large, uniform in size, and evenly colored with a lustrous appearance. To make harvesting easier, farmers often prune the trees to no more than 150 centimeters.

Red Bourbon Coffee Beans

After Red Bourbon trees flower and fruit, the cherries progress from green to light yellow, then light orange, then mature red, and finally a darker red when fully ripe—which is why some people call it the "Red Bourbon variety." In fact, Red Bourbon is essentially what we commonly mean by the Bourbon variety. Bourbon grown at high altitudes typically shows superior aroma, brighter acidity, and even wine-like flavors in the cup.

Yellow Bourbon

Yellow Bourbon is a hybrid developed by crossing Bourbon with other varieties. Because of its lower yield and weaker resistance to wind and rain, it has not been widely cultivated. But grown at high altitudes it shows excellent flavor, and it has become more common in recent years. Yellow Bourbon, with its yellow ripe cherries, was first discovered in Brazil and still grows mainly there. It is generally believed to have resulted from a mutation after crossing red-fruited Bourbon with a yellow-fruited Typica variant called "Amerelo de Botocatu."

French Missionary Bourbon

In Africa, the French missionaries known as Spiritans (of the Holy Ghost Congregation) played a crucial role in spreading Bourbon. In 1841 the first mission was established in Réunion, with a branch founded in Zanzibar in 1859. From Zanzibar, branches followed in 1862 in Bagamoyo (coastal Tanzania, then Tanganyika) and St. Augustine (Kikuyu, Kenya), and in 1893 in Bura (Taita Hills, Kenya). Each new branch was accompanied by planting coffee seeds brought from Réunion.

In 1899, seedlings cultivated in Bura were taken to another French mission at St. Mary's, near Nairobi. In 1900 they were introduced to the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania, and seeds were distributed to local residents willing to grow coffee—marking the origin of what is known as "Missionary Bourbon." Subsequently the Kent variety was also introduced, in 1920. To this day, Tanzanian coffee consists primarily of Bourbon and Kent.

The following all belong to the Bourbon family:

Brazilian Red Bourbon Coffee Beans

On some estates in the Cerrado region of Minas Gerais state in southeastern Brazil, ancient Bourbon coffee is still cultivated. The Cerrado plateau of western and southern Minas mostly lies above 1,100 meters, with rich topography, distinct wet and dry seasons, significant day-night temperature differences, and abundant microclimates—ideal for cultivating elegantly flavored Red and Yellow Bourbon, and naturally a key 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, prominent nutty flavor, excellent chocolate sweetness and body

Red Bourbon Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

The Brazilian Red Bourbon beans roasted by FrontStreet Coffee offer excellent guarantees in both brand and quality, at exceptional value.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer, and its beans bring moderate acidity with a beautiful balance of sweetness, bitterness, and body—perfectly suited to medium roasting that releases nutty aromas and a mellow, gently tart cup, whether as a single origin or in a blend. For a first taste of Brazil, FrontStreet Coffee's pulped natural Cerrado Red Bourbon is a true classic. Cerrado is a renowned region known for high-quality beans, and this Red Bourbon, roasted medium, shows rich aromas of creamy peanut, toasted bread, caramel, and hazelnut with a rounded, non-acidic body and just a light touch of bitterness. It works not only as a pour-over but also in a moka pot, as an espresso SOE, in a siphon, or in a French press.

For something rarer, try the Yellow Bourbon from FrontStreet Coffee's Queen Estate in the Mogiana region, near southern Minas, where fertile red volcanic soil feeds the cherries into full, rich aromas. Yellow Bourbon is a natural mutation of Red Bourbon with an even cleaner fruit character: brewed by hand, in a moka pot, or on a home espresso machine, it reveals a sugarcane sweetness found in few other origins, alongside fruit and chocolate notes. Its low acidity and balance also explain why Brazilian beans form the backbone of so many espresso blends—the FrontStreet Classic, Premium, Black Cocoa, and Commercial blends all contain Brazilian coffee, gaining chocolate and cream notes, gentle acidity and bitterness, and a steadier extraction.