The Story and History of Brazilian Red Bourbon: How to Best Enjoy Red Bourbon Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee · Brazil Red Bourbon

Country: Brazil

Variety: Red Bourbon

Processing: Hand-picked, then semi-sun-dried

Region: South Minas

Altitude: 700m-1200m

Processing Method: Semi-washed

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

Origin Introduction

South Minas, with its hilly terrain at elevations of 700m-1200m, is Brazil's earliest coffee-producing area. Because of rising labor costs, mechanical harvesting is now the norm there. This region was also the first to commercialize coffee, and many large exporters were established here. The Bahia production area, in northern Brazil, mainly produces washed Brazilian coffee, while the Espírito Santo region near the coast is the main export area for Brazil's Robusta varieties.

Brazil's coffee-growing areas are divided into two main types of terrain: the Brazilian plateau above 500 meters in altitude, and the Brazilian plain below 200 meters. The principal varieties cultivated, and widely known, are Bourbon types (including Yellow Bourbon, Red Bourbon, and Flat Bean Santos). FrontStreet Coffee's Brazilian coffee is characterized by low acidity, nutty flavors, balance, and moderate body. In the world of specialty coffee, Brazilian coffee may not stand out, but it is often used as a blending component in espresso. Because of its high balance, merchants often use it as a Blue Mountain-style bean.

Bourbon Variety

Let me briefly explain what Bourbon coffee is. Bourbon was originally cultivated on Réunion Island, which was also called Bourbon Island before 1789. Bourbon is a sub-species that mutated from Typica and, along with Typica, belongs to the oldest existing coffee varieties. When the green fruits ripen, they turn a bright red.

Generally, after Red Bourbon trees flower and bear fruit, the color of the coffee cherries changes as follows: green, light yellow, light orange, mature red, and finally a darker red at full ripeness. That is why it is also called "Red Bourbon." In fact, Red Bourbon is what we generally call the Bourbon variety. Bourbon grown at high altitudes typically has a better aroma and brighter acidity, and may even taste wine-like.

Put simply, Bourbon is a coffee-tree variety belonging to a branch of the Arabica species. It generally bears red fruit, called Red Bourbon. There are also Yellow Bourbon and Orange Bourbon; Yellow Bourbon has relatively lower yields but better quality.

Spread of the Bourbon Variety

Because the Typica variety introduced to Brazil in 1727 had low yields and was susceptible to disease, Bourbon was introduced to Brazil around 1860 through Campinas in the south and quickly spread northward to other regions of South and Central America. Today in Latin America, although most Bourbon has been replaced by its variants (especially Caturra, Catuai, and Mundo Novo), it is still cultivated in countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Peru.

In Africa, French missionaries known as the Spiritans (from the Holy Ghost Congregation) played an important role in spreading the Bourbon variety. In 1841 the first mission was established on Réunion, and a branch was established in Zanzibar in 1859. From Zanzibar, branches were established in 1862 at Bagamoyo (on the Tanzanian coast, then called Tanganyika) and St. Augustine (Kikuyu, Kenya), and another branch was established in 1893 at Bura (Taita Hills, Kenya). Each new branch was accompanied by the planting of coffee seeds brought from Réunion.

In 1899, seedlings cultivated at Bura were taken to another French mission at 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." The Kent variety was then introduced in 1920. As a result, coffee in Tanzania is still mainly Bourbon and Kent to this day.

- French territory of Bourbon Island
- 1860: Pointed Bourbon to New Caledonia and Yemen
- 1732: Round Bourbon to the British territory of St. Helena Island
- 1860: Round Bourbon to Brazil
- 1900: Round Bourbon to Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania
- After 2000: Pointed Bourbon to Colombia

Processing Method Introduction

Semi-washed Method

After the coffee cherries are harvested, immature fruits and foreign objects are removed in water tanks, the outer skin and part of the pulp are removed, and then a mucilage remover strips away the mucilage. Removing the mucilage shortens the sun-drying time required and lowers the risk of fermentation. This method is often used when climatic conditions are not ideal: if air humidity is high, the climate is warm, or there is rainfall, mold is a serious risk during drying. For this reason, most Brazilian beans destined for commodity trade are processed using the semi-washed method.

Green Bean Analysis

There are many varieties of Brazilian coffee, mainly processed using the natural method and classified according to origin state names and shipping ports. Because the production areas are scattered and quality is uneven, classification standards are not unified.

Brazil's grading system evaluates defect ratio, size, flavor, and cup-quality scores, with its own independent system that is more complex than those of other countries. Take "Brasil Santos, NY 2 SC17/18 SS FC" as an example: NY2 is the defect-ratio grade, where larger numbers mean a higher defect ratio. The sequence runs 2, 2/3, 3, 3/4..., with NY indicating the New York grading standard as the benchmark.

SC 17/18 indicates bean size. SS FC (Strictly Soft and Fine Cup) represents flavor and cup quality, which in this classification are divided into two groups: the first includes Strictly Soft, Soft, Softish, Hard, Hardish, Rioy/Rioysh, and Rio; the second is divided into Fine Cup and Good Cup. Brazilian coffee's main characteristics are high sweetness, a clean and smooth cup, low acidity, and quite versatile uses, which is why it is widely loved by the general public.

Roasting Analysis

Brazilian coffee generally grows at altitudes of 1000-1300 meters, so its density is relatively low, its moisture content is moderate, its bean texture is soft, and the distance from the bean surface to the core is thin. It is therefore not suited to roasting at too high a temperature, which would produce a burnt bitterness. We use a medium-fire bean-feeding approach, holding the heat through the dehydration stage and making fine adjustments as the temperature rises after the first crack begins, to promote more complete caramelization. This semi-washed bean heats up slowly after the first crack and can be dropped just before the second crack.

Yangjia 600g Semi-direct Fire Roaster

Preheat the roaster to 200°C before loading the beans. Set the air damper to 3. After 30 seconds, turn on the heat and adjust to 160, keeping the air damper unchanged. The return temperature point comes at 1'30"; maintain the heat. Turn yellow at 5'00", when the grassy smell disappears and the dehydration stage begins; reduce the heat to 130 and open the air damper to 4. On reaching 168°C, reduce the heat again to 100.

Dehydration is complete at 8'00", with wrinkles and black spots appearing on the bean surface. The toast smell turns to coffee aroma, a prelude to the first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the first crack. First crack starts at 8'50"; open the air damper fully to 5. Development time after the first crack is 3 minutes and 10 seconds. On reaching 190°C, reduce the heat to 50, then to 30 again at 194°C, until dropping at approximately 200°C.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Red Bourbon is a flavor-balanced coffee with a typical Brazilian style: prominent nutty and chocolate flavors with low acidity.

Brewing Data

Recommended Brewing Method: Pour-over

Grind Size: 4 (Japan Fuji R440)

Water Temperature: 89°C

V60 filter cup, 15g of coffee grounds, water temperature 90-91°C, grind 3.5, water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15

30g of water for the bloom, bloom time 30s

Segmented pour: pour water to 120ml and stop, then slowly pour to 225ml

That is, 30-120-75, with a total extraction time of 2 minutes

Other drip extraction suggestions:

French press: recommended grind size 3.5-4 / water temperature 90°C

AeroPress: recommended grind size 2.5, water temperature 90°C

FrontStreet Coffee's Specialty Espresso Blend Coffee Beans: FrontStreet Coffee's blend of Colombian and Brazilian beans has inherent sweetness, with some nutty, peach, and almond flavors, caramel sweetness, chocolate-like silkiness, and obvious balance. Today, while adjusting the grind, I tried grind size 1.9 with a 21.5g dose in a double portafilter for the first time and found the dose was too large, with no liquid emerging after 5 seconds. Reducing the dose to 20.5g with the grind unchanged, I extracted 42g of espresso in 28 seconds at a 1:2 ratio.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Because Brazilian coffee is so often prized for its balance and used as a "Blue Mountain-style" bean, FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 makes a natural next step for anyone who enjoys this Red Bourbon. Sourced from the historic Clifton Estate and roasted to a medium-dark level, it delivers layered notes of cream, caramel, chocolate, nuts, and honey with a soft, rounded sweetness - an equally approachable, low-acid cup that is easy to love.