What are the characteristics of Réunion Island Laurina coffee? Why is Laurina called natural low-caffeine coffee?

When it comes to low-caffeine coffee, most people think of decaffeinated coffee that has undergone special processing to reduce its caffeine content. However, there exists a natural coffee variety with inherently low caffeine content of only 0.5%—the Bourbon Pointu that FrontStreet Coffee is introducing to you today!

Bourbon Pointu is academically known as "Coffea Laurina," or Laurina coffee, but it's commonly referred to as Bourbon Pointu. This name comes from its bean shape, which is relatively slender and pointed at both ends.

Why Does Bourbon Pointu Have Such Low Caffeine Content?

Unlike other artificially processed decaffeinated coffees, Bourbon Pointu has lower caffeine content than typical Bourbon coffee trees due to genetic degradation, resulting in better flavor but extremely low yield. This is why Bourbon Pointu is rare and expensive. The Bourbon Pointu variety is particularly susceptible to leaf rust and black spot disease, which is the main reason for its low yield. For this reason, Bourbon Pointu is extremely precious and mostly cultivated in laboratories.

As early as the 18th century, Bourbon Pointu had already gained popularity worldwide. Even King Louis XV of France and the famous novelist Balzac were its "fans"! During the 200 years from the 18th to the 19th century, Bourbon Pointu was extensively cultivated on Bourbon Island, reaching a peak annual output of 4,000 metric tons in 1800!

However, a series of disasters followed—hurricanes, fire ants, leaf rust—leading to a gradual reduction in cultivation. Finally, in 1942, the last batch of Bourbon Pointu shipped back to France was only a pitiful 200 kilograms. Since then, Bourbon Pointu disappeared without a trace, no longer even mentioned in official documents. Bourbon Pointu was once considered extinct!

The Rediscovery and Revival

After decades of Bourbon Pointu's disappearance, Yoshiaki Kawashima, a coffee expert from UCC Coffee Japan, repeatedly heard coffee farmers in El Salvador mention that "low-caffeine coffee trees might still survive on the French Bourbon Island," which inspired him to search for Bourbon Pointu.

So in 1999, while on a research trip to Africa, he visited Bourbon Island to search for the legendary low-caffeine coffee trees. However, things didn't go as smoothly as imagined. The young people on the island had never heard of coffee crops on Bourbon Island, so he had to leave his contact information with local farmers and officials before departing.

Finally, two years later, in 2001, Kawashima received a call from a farmer on Bourbon Island, reporting the discovery of more than thirty unknown coffee trees in the wild!

Later, experts confirmed that these were indeed the Bourbon Pointu coffee trees of that time. Consequently, French scientists and UCC Coffee Japan collaborated to launch a revival plan for natural low-caffeine coffee trees. Finally, in 2006, the first small batch of Bourbon Pointu coffee beans was produced. After screening, they were sold in 2007, primarily to the Japanese market, at high prices—said to be four times more expensive than premium Blue Mountain coffee!

Modern Recognition

At the 2018 World Brewers Cup, Emi Fukahori from Switzerland, using a semi-carbon dioxide maceration processed Bourbon Pointu from Brazil, defeated numerous Panama Geisha varieties to stand out, becoming another memorable chapter in coffee competition history.

The beans she selected were from the Cerrado Region of Brazil's Daterra Estate—a Laurina Bourbon Pointu. During her presentation, she described this coffee variety as having 50% less caffeine and 20% less chlorogenic acid than other Arabica varieties, resulting in significantly less bitterness. At that time, Emi Fukahori described the flavor and aroma as: red grapes, orange blossom, pineapple, rum, and green apple. Its ability to surpass numerous Geisha varieties and ultimately win the WBrC championship demonstrates that the Bourbon Pointu variety should not be underestimated.

Characteristics and Brewing

The Bourbon Pointu coffee tree resembles a small Christmas tree with shorter branches and narrow leaves. Its caffeine content is only 0.5%. It is particularly susceptible to leaf rust and black spot disease, which is the main reason for its low yield. The ripening period of its red cherries is earlier than other varieties.

Although today's Bourbon Pointu no longer commands the exaggerated prices of the past, it remains a very precious bean. So what exactly does such expensive Bourbon Pointu taste like?

Observing the roasted beans, one can see that Bourbon Pointu coffee beans are generally small and uniform, with a slender shape that is pointed at both ends, resembling wheat.

FrontStreet Coffee brewed a pot of natural process Bourbon Pointu coffee, with parameters and flavor description as follows:

Parameters: 15g coffee, Hario V60 dripper, 90°C water temperature, medium-fine grind, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio.

Brewing method: Poured extraction. Use 30g of water for blooming—stop when the surface of the coffee bed changes from wet to dry, with a bloom time of 30 seconds; use a small stream to pour water in the center to 125g for segmentation. When the liquid level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When the liquid level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. Extraction time (starting from bloom) is 2 minutes.

Flavor: The dry aroma carries fermented fragrance, spices, nuts, and tropical fruit aromas. The wet aroma has distinct floral notes. The entrance is smooth, with flavors of red fruits, plums, and pine nuts, with a persistent sugarcane aftertaste.

Important Notice :

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