American Specialty Coffee Cupping Champion - Bourbon Coffee and the Correct Way to Use Bourbon Coffee

What is Bourbon Coffee?

Bourbon is a variety of Arabica coffee and a branch of Typica, native to Bourbon Island in the Indian Ocean (now called Reunion Island). It is generally grown mainly in Central and South America, in places such as El Salvador, Brazil, Rwanda and Panama. Early Bourbon was a variant of Ethiopian Typica that was transplanted to Yemen. France began transplanting round beans from Yemen's Mocha to Bourbon Island off the east coast of Africa in 1715 AD (renamed Reunion Island after the French Revolution), which is how it got the name Bourbon. Bourbon round beans also spread to Brazil and Central and South America in 1727, and in 1732 Britain transplanted Yemen's Mocha to Saint Helena Island, which were also Bourbon round beans. The biggest difference in appearance from Typica is that the leaves are wider, the coffee cherries are smaller, and production is more concentrated, so the fruit body of Bourbon is smaller and rounder.

Bourbon is a frequent winner in American specialty coffee cupping competitions. Taiwan has also successfully cultivated Yellow Bourbon since 2011, mainly in areas such as Taichung's Xinshe and Dongshi, Alishan, Dongshan, Pingtung and Taitung. Currently the planting quantity has not yet reached an economic scale, making it rare.

Yellow Bourbon Characteristics

Generally, ripe coffee beans present a red color, but ripe Bourbon beans present a yellow color, so they are generally called Yellow Bourbon. In Brazil, the world's largest coffee export region, the production of Yellow Bourbon accounts for less than 1%, making it quite precious and rare.

Yellow Bourbon coffee beans are more difficult to cultivate and have lower yields. Roasted beans present a dry yet sweet taste, with nutty and cocoa/chocolate-like aromas. Yellow Bourbon generally uses the semi-dry method (or semi-washed method), and some Bourbon varieties have fruity aromas, especially the aroma and sweetness during brewing, which are more pleasing.

Coffee Bean Varieties

Coffee bean varieties are basically divided into Arabica and Robusta. Under Arabica there are two to three thousand varieties, all of which are variants that originated from Ethiopian Typica and Yemen's Bourbon after being transplanted to Central and South America or Asia.

When it comes to Bourbon varieties, people think of the well-known Yellow Bourbon coffee beans. As the name suggests, the coffee fruits of Yellow Bourbon do not turn red when ripe, but instead develop an orange-yellow skin, which is a unique Bourbon variety specific to Sao Paulo state, Brazil. Yellow Bourbon beans are suitable for both light and dark roasts. In recent years, because it won the top three awards in Brazil's Cup of Excellence (CoE), it has received much attention and has also become a blending bean for many espressos.

The Origin of the Bourbon Name

Bourbon and Typica are both ancient, high-quality coffee varieties. Some botanists even believe that Bourbon is a variant of early Typica that was transplanted to Yemen, with the beans presenting a round shape. So where did the name Bourbon come from? For a long time, Bourbon was mistakenly thought to have been introduced to Bourbon Island off the east coast of Africa, but in fact many round Bourbon beans were spread directly from Yemen without passing through Bourbon Island. The Bourbon beans currently in Central and South America belong to unmutated traditional round Bourbon.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations

KONO filter cup; water temperature 86-88°C; grind size Fuji 4 (medium grind); powder-to-water ratio 1:13-1:14; extraction time one minute and fifty seconds.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste what Bourbon can do, FrontStreet Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon is a classic single origin. From the well-known Cerrado region, this half-sun-dried Red Bourbon, at a medium roast, layers creamy peanut, toast, caramel and hazelnut aromas over a rounded body, low acidity and a light bitterness, and works in a pour-over, moka pot, espresso SOE, siphon or French press.

For the rarer Yellow Bourbon, FrontStreet Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon comes from Mogiana, where fertile red volcanic soil helps the cherries develop full aromas. A natural mutation of Red Bourbon with a cleaner fruit character, it shows a cane-sugar sweetness alongside fruit and chocolate notes that are hard to find elsewhere.