A Guide to Red Bourbon Coffee: Brazilian Origins, Flavor Profile, and Pour-over Brewing Techniques

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Bourbon and Typica both belong to the Arabica variety and are also among the most ancient coffee varieties. Bourbon itself has a very long history, and FrontStreet Coffee has previously shared its dissemination route, with Brazil currently being its representative country. FrontStreet Coffee has great interest in the Bourbon variety because it holds a pivotal position in specialty coffee. It's known for its rich body and prominent nutty flavors, and it also comes in different color variants, each presenting distinct characteristics, which undoubtedly brings new vitality and harvests to the coffee industry.

Coffee History

Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer and the largest coffee production area, with extensive coffee cultivation. Brazil has 17 states that produce coffee, and simultaneously, Brazil cultivates numerous varieties, currently dominated by Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, Mundo Novo, and Catuai. Coffee entered Brazil from French Guiana in 1727. In 1727, Portuguese diplomat Francisco de Mello Palheta was sent to French Guiana to mediate territorial disputes. At that time, Francisco won the affection of the governor's wife, who hid several coffee seeds in flowers she gave him, allowing Francisco to successfully bring coffee seeds into Brazil.

Bourbon Variety

Bourbon classification: Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, Orange Bourbon, Pink Bourbon, Blue Bourbon

Bourbon coffee, like Typica coffee, is an old variety belonging to the Arabica coffee species. Bourbon coffee was originally cultivated on Réunion Island, which was called Bourbon Island before 1789, hence the coffee variety was named "Bourbon." As an old coffee bean variety, unlike Typica coffee, Bourbon leaves are wider than Typica leaves, grow more densely, and yield 30% more than Typica coffee. The beans are relatively round and short, with rich berry acidity, noticeable cream and fragrance, strong acidic aroma, and prominent fruit acidity. However, it shares the same problem of poor disease resistance.

Red Bourbon: Generally, after coffee trees flower and bear fruit, the color change of coffee cherries follows: green > light yellow > light orange > mature red > dark red, hence some call it "Red Bourbon." Red Bourbon was introduced to Brazil around 1860 through Campinas in the south and is a typical coffee variety. To put it simply, Bourbon is a coffee variety belonging to a branch of the Arabica species. It generally bears red fruits, called Red Bourbon. Besides this, there are also Yellow Bourbon and Orange Bourbon. Yellow Bourbon has relatively lower yields but better quality.

South Minas Region in Brazil

South Minas, with hills at elevations of 700m-1200m, is Brazil's earliest coffee production area. Due to rising labor costs, mechanical harvesting is now predominantly used, and it's also the earliest commercialized area for coffee. We can see many large exporters established here. The Bahia production area located in northern Brazil mainly produces washed Brazilian coffee, while the Espírito Santo production area near the coast is the main export region for Brazil's Robusta varieties. Brazil's coffee cultivation areas are mainly dominated by two types of terrain: one is the Brazilian plateau above 500 meters in elevation, and the other is the Brazilian plain below 200 meters. The main cultivated and well-known varieties include Bourbon (including Yellow Bourbon, Red Bourbon, and Flat Bean Santos). Brazilian coffee's flavor profile is mainly characterized by low acidity, nutty flavors, balance, and moderate body. In the world of specialty coffee, Brazilian coffee is not outstanding, but in espresso blends, Brazilian coffee is often used as a blending component. Due to its high balance, it's also often used by merchants as Blue Mountain flavor beans.

Processing Method - Semi-washed

After harvesting coffee cherries, immature fruits and foreign objects are removed through water tanks, then the outer skin and part of the pulp are removed, followed by using a mucilage remover to eliminate the mucilage. Removing mucilage helps reduce the required sun-drying time and lower fermentation risks. This method is often used when climate conditions are less ideal. If air humidity is high, climate is warm, or there's rainfall, there's a risk of mold spoilage during the drying process. Therefore, most of Brazil's washed beans for commercial trade are processed using the semi-washed method.

Brazilian Coffee Bean Grades

The grading method for Brazilian coffee beans based on defect rate is the "deduction system." Grades are classified according to the number of defective beans per 300 grams of main beans, with seven levels from No.2 to No.8. If the deduction is below 4, it can be classified as No.2. Coffee with no defective beans can of course be called No.1, but this situation is rare and cannot maintain a certain supply volume, so Brazil sets No.2 as the highest grade instead of No.1. The method of categorizing bean size by screen count is: screening with a mesh based on 1/64 inch as the standard, with mesh sizes typically ranging from 14 to 20. Additionally, it should be noted that the size corresponding to the screen count refers to the short side of the coffee bean, i.e., its "width." In Brazilian coffee beans, the largest screen count is 19, but production is limited, so 17/18 is the highest grade.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Analysis - Yangjia 600g Semi-direct Fire Roaster

Brazilian coffee generally grows at altitudes of 1000-1300 meters, so its density is relatively low, moisture content is moderate, bean texture is relatively soft, and the thickness from bean surface to core is thin, making it unsuitable for roasting at too high temperatures, which would result in burnt bitterness; we choose a medium-fire bean-throwing method, maintain heat until the dehydration stage, and make fine adjustments as temperature rises after the first crack begins to promote more complete caramelization. This semi-washed coffee heats up slowly after the first crack and can be discharged when approaching the second crack. Preheat the roaster to 200°C before loading, open the air vent to 3, turn on the fire after 30 seconds, adjust fire to 160, keep air vent unchanged, return temperature point at 1'30, maintain firepower, turn yellow at 5'00, grassy smell disappears, enter dehydration stage, reduce firepower to 130, open air vent to 4. When reaching 168°C, reduce firepower to 100 again. Dehydration completed at 8'00, bean surface shows wrinkles and black markings, toast smell turns to coffee aroma, as a prelude to first crack, at which point pay attention to listen for the sound of first crack. First crack starts at 8'50, air vent fully opened to 5. Development time after first crack is 3 minutes and 10 seconds, firepower reduced to 50 when reaching 190°C, reduced to 30 again at 194°C, discharged at approximately 200°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Record

This is a flavor-balanced coffee with typical Brazilian coffee style. Nut and chocolate flavors are prominent, with low acidity.

FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Red Bourbon

• Country: Brazil
• Variety: Red Bourbon
• Processing Method: Hand-picked, then semi-dried natural process
• Origin: South Minas
• Elevation: 700m-1200m
• Processing Method: Semi-washed
• Flavor: High sweetness, clean, smooth, low acidity, with tropical fruit aroma

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Parameters

Grind size: 4 (Japanese Fuji R440) Water temperature: 89°C V60 dripper, 15g of grounds, water temperature 90-91°C, grind 3.5, water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15 30g water for bloom, bloom time 30s, segmented: pour water to 120ml then stop, slowly pour water to 225ml, i.e., 30-120-75, total extraction time 2 minutes

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