Bourbon Coffee Beans Introduction - What Variety is Bourbon Coffee? Is Brazilian Bourbon Coffee Delicious?

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As we all know, the third wave of coffee brought about specialty coffee. The development of specialty coffee has made people realize the importance of growing regions, coffee varieties, and processing methods. Why are varieties important? The baristas at FrontStreet Coffee often share with customers that coffee is essentially a plant, an agricultural crop, a fruit. The differences in varieties directly affect aspects including coffee yield, disease resistance, and coffee flavor.

Take apples as an example: green apples have a green exterior, a harder texture, and taste more acidic; crystal red Fuji apples have a flat or columnar shape, smooth fruit surfaces with more wax and less fruit powder, a firm texture when eaten, juicy and fragrant, with a balanced sweet and sour taste...

Such examples abound in daily life, and coffee is no exception. The most representative example is the comparison between Arabica and Robusta. At the species level, coffee is mainly divided into three types: Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica. Today's global coffee beans mainly belong to Arabica and Robusta. Arabica is more sought after in the market than Robusta because of its lower chlorogenic acid content and more refined flavors. Robusta coffee is more disease and pest resistant, with yields much higher than Arabica varieties, but its disadvantage is a bitter taste and lack of refined flavors, so it is generally used in commercial coffee that does not pursue flavor excessively.

Coffee Varieties in the Specialty Coffee World

But in the world of specialty coffee, varieties refer not just to Arabica, because Arabica and Robusta refer to the species level. More importantly, we need to distinguish between varieties (varieties) under the species, which is what we usually call varieties in daily life, such as Typica, Bourbon, Gesha, etc.

Although belonging to the Arabica species, different varieties result in different tastes, yields, etc. For example, Caturra has high yields, Gesha has refined flavors... When talking about varieties, FrontStreet Coffee believes that two of the earliest varieties cannot be avoided: one is Typica, and the other is the Bourbon variety we are sharing today.

The Origin of the Bourbon Variety

In the 18th century, the French introduced round coffee beans from Yemen to Réunion Island. At that time, Réunion Island was still known as Bourbon Island, hence the name Bourbon. Subsequently, the Bourbon variety took root in Réunion Island and gradually adapted to the local growing environment. Although it was introduced very early, the Bourbon variety did not spread until before the mid-19th century.

Time came to 1860, when the Bourbon variety was introduced to Brazil and from there rapidly spread to various countries in Central and South America. These countries still grow and produce Bourbon variety coffee beans today.

Color Variations of the Bourbon Variety

When talking about the Bourbon variety, many people have heard about the color variations of Bourbon, such as Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, and Pink Bourbon. Red Bourbon is perhaps the most common type, because under normal circumstances, coffee fruits gradually mature from unripe green to light yellow, then to orange, with the coffee fruits showing red at the optimal picking time, and finally to overripe dark purple.

Trained picking workers know when to pick coffee fruits. By observing the color of the coffee fruits, they pick the highest quality coffee of the day. Unripe coffee fruits, meaning the coffee beans have not accumulated enough nutrients, naturally cannot develop refined flavors, while overripe coffee fruits are also prone to produce over-fermented yeasty notes. One of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe coffees comes from the Red Cherry Project. The content of this project is to purchase coffee fruits harvested with all-red cherries at higher prices to increase the income of coffee farmers and improve the quality of coffee beans, achieving a win-win situation.

To get back on track, Red Bourbon is so named because its fruits appear red. The same applies to Yellow Bourbon and Pink Bourbon. Yellow Bourbon is generally considered to be a hybrid of Red Bourbon and other varieties. Yellow Bourbon fruits appear yellow when ripe. It was first discovered in Brazil, and Brazil is still the main producing country that grows Yellow Bourbon. Besides having yellow fruits, Yellow Bourbon also has relatively low yields and is not resistant to wind and rain, so it has not been widely cultivated.

Pink Bourbon is even rarer. Pink Bourbon is a hybrid of Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon. The reason for its rarity is that the pink shape of the fruit is determined by recessive genes, which are very easily disturbed, making it difficult to maintain the pink fruit appearance.

How Does Bourbon Coffee Taste?

To find the taste of Bourbon coffee, FrontStreet Coffee believes you should start with Brazil. Although Bourbon was previously spread to many coffee-producing countries in Central and South America, the disadvantages of Bourbon注定 its fate of being replaced. Bourbon and Typica, the two oldest Arabica varieties, have very low disease and pest resistance and low yields. Perhaps their only merit is their excellent cup quality. Therefore, many Central and South American countries prefer to grow natural mutant varieties of Bourbon—Caturra, as well as other more disease-resistant and higher-yielding varieties.

At the same time, FrontStreet Coffee believes that as Brazil was the first stop for the Bourbon variety in Central and South America, Brazil's Bourbon variety might be more representative. Note that what FrontStreet Coffee wants to express is more representative, not necessarily the best. One of the most recommended Brazilian coffee beans by FrontStreet Coffee in recent years is the Yellow Bourbon variety. This Brazilian Yellow Bourbon coffee comes from Queen's Farm in the Mogiana region, processed with natural method. We can taste distinct nutty notes, cream, etc.

In addition to Queen's Farm's Yellow Bourbon, FrontStreet Coffee also has a Red Bourbon coffee bean from the Southern Minas region, processed with pulped natural method. This coffee tastes with nutty and chocolate notes, along with a caramel aftertaste.

Comparing the two Brazilian Bourbon coffees, it's not difficult to find that the base notes of the Bourbon variety are mainly nutty, while the distinct sweetness is also very pleasant.

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