Colombia Isabella Pink Bourbon Coffee Bean Profile Fine-Tuning Share - Pink Bourbon Characteristics and Story

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For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

Introduction to Pink Bourbon

Pink Bourbon was first planted in the Huila region. Initially, it was mixed with other Bourbon and Caturra varieties. Later, it was harvested and processed separately. When the coffee cherries mature, they display a romantic pink color. However, maintaining this pink color is extremely difficult because the final color of the coffee fruit is determined by recessive genes in the pollen grains. The pollen grains used for hybridization contain both yellow genes that tend toward Yellow Bourbon and red genes that tend toward Red Bourbon, all of which are recessive genes that easily interfere with each other. Therefore, Pink Bourbon is a very rare variety.

The rare Pink Bourbon also shows special characteristics in the cup. Unlike the relatively flat flavor profile of typical Bourbon varieties, this Pink Bourbon possesses fresh floral aroma, blueberry and green grape juice sweetness, cherry notes in the middle section, and a sweetness reminiscent of brown sugar in the finish. In terms of acidity, it more commonly presents a complex expression of citrus and berry fruits.

Because Pink Bourbon has such a unique flavor profile, we previously shared a detailed introduction about this bean: [FrontStreet Coffee's Bean Hunting Journal] Rare Variety Pink Bourbon - Colombia La Minita Estate Special Feature. To better explore the flavor potential of this bean, FrontStreet Coffee's roaster made micro-adjustments to the previous roasting curve. Today, let's share what flavor characteristics this Pink Bourbon exhibits with the adjusted curve~~

Before Curve Adjustment

Roaster: Yangjia 800N (300g batch size)

Charge at 180°C with damper at 3 and heat at 120. Return temperature at 1'42", maintain heat at 140°C with damper at 4. At this point, the bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, entering the dehydration phase. At 176°C, reduce heat to 100, and at 180°C, reduce heat to 70, keeping damper unchanged.

At 8'17", the bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, with toast aroma clearly transforming into coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this moment, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 9'30", first crack begins, adjust damper to 5 (adjust heat very carefully, not too low to stop crackling sounds). After first crack, develop for 1'30", drop at 191.5°C.

Agtron bean color value 75.9 (above image), Agtron ground color value (below image) 82.5, Roast Delta value 6.6.

Cupping results: Citrus, floral, honey, berries, nuts, cream.

After Curve Adjustment

Curve One

Charge at 180°C with damper at 3 and heat at 100. Return temperature at 1'43", maintain heat at 140°C with damper at 4. At this point, the bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, entering the dehydration phase. At 151°C, reduce heat to 80, and at 166°C, reduce heat to 65, keeping damper unchanged.

At 9'07", the bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, with toast aroma clearly transforming into coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this moment, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 10'55", first crack begins, adjust damper to 5 (adjust heat very carefully, not too low to stop crackling sounds). After first crack, develop for 1'35", drop at 190.2°C.

Agtron bean color value 79.1 (above image), Agtron ground color value 82.8 (below image), Roast Delta value 3.7.

Cupping results: Citrus, tea aroma, honey, floral, berries, nuts.

Curve Two

Charge at 180°C with damper at 3 and heat at 100. Return temperature at 1'40", maintain heat at 140°C with damper at 4. At this point, the bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, entering the dehydration phase. At 151°C, reduce heat to 80, and at 166°C, reduce heat to 65, keeping damper unchanged.

At 8'35", the bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, with toast aroma clearly transforming into coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this moment, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 9'58", first crack begins, adjust damper to 5 (adjust heat very carefully, not too low to stop crackling sounds). After first crack, develop for 1'28", drop at 193°C.

Agtron bean color value 75.1 (above image), Agtron ground color value 79.3 (below image), Roast Delta value 4.2.

Cupping results: Floral, caramel, lemon, honey, nuts, chocolate.

Curve Analysis

Both adjusted curves show prominent floral, fruit acidity, and sweet-sour characteristics in overall cupping. For Curve One, the initial floral aroma was relatively weak during slurping. As temperature changed, the middle section's sweet-sour sensation and flavor layers gradually became more apparent. In the later section, tea characteristics and honey sweetness could be clearly detected. From beginning to end of cupping, the overall curve showed overly prominent acidity in mouthfeel. For Curve Two, the initial floral aroma and flavors were more prominent during slurping. As temperature changed, the middle section's acidity was weaker, with caramel sweetness instead. In the later section, nutty and cocoa aromas were more clearly detected. The overall presentation showed distinct flavor layers, with a solid and balanced mouthfeel.

Brewing Guide

After cupping, we felt both curves performed quite well. We brewed one pot with each curve to see if they would show similar performance in pour-over brewing.

Recommended brewing method: Pour-over

Filter: Hario V60

Water temperature: 90°C

Dose: 15 grams

Ratio: 1:16

Grind: Medium-fine (BG 6k: China standard 20-mesh sieve pass rate 58%)

Brewing method: Segmented extraction

Bloom with 34g water for 40 seconds. Using small circular pours, continue to 127g water for segmentation. When water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 240g and stop. When water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter. (Timing starts from bloom) Total extraction time is 2'00".

Flavor Profile

Curve One: Initial taste shows dark plum acidity, berries. As temperature changes, nutty aroma, caramel, cream emerge. Lemon acidity is prominent in mouthfeel.

Curve Two: Initial taste shows citrus, berries, cherry tomatoes. As temperature changes, caramel sweetness and subtle fermentation notes appear. The finish has floral and nutty cream aromas. The mouthfeel is smooth and clean.

Through cupping and brewing, we all felt that Curve Two after adjustment better showcases the flavor of this Pink Bourbon. Of course, flavor descriptions vary by individual and are influenced by water temperature and brewing methods. This cupping report provides descriptions limited to the flavor wheel under the same brewing equipment and parameters, intended for reference purposes.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473