Coffee Bean Varieties and Flavor Profiles: An Introduction to Common Bourbon Coffee - The Colorful Rainbow of the Coffee World

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FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Three Major Coffee Bean Varieties and Bourbon

Arabica is a typical "high-altitude flower" belonging to highland coffee. Most specialty coffees come from this variety. For example, Blue Mountain, which is considered an idol-level coffee among coffee enthusiasts, is also an Arabica variety. It has the longest history in human civilization, and it is said that the earliest coffee introduced to the Western world from the Arab world was Arabica coffee.

It is the only native variety that can be directly consumed as coffee, but it has a fatal weakness: low disease resistance. How low is it? Sri Lanka was once a renowned coffee-growing country, but due to a coffee leaf rust disease, all Arabica coffee trees in the country perished, forcing them to reluctantly switch to growing tea. It can be found in South America, Central America, Africa, and some parts of Asia.

"Robusta" coffee is commonly known as "coarse beans" and can be grown in low-altitude areas (200 to 800 meters above sea level). It has strong resistance to pests and diseases, is less susceptible to agricultural damage, and has a higher annual yield per unit area of coffee trees. It can be harvested in large quantities using machines, generally making production costs far lower than Arabica coffee.

"Robusta" coffee typically has a more ordinary, rigid, and pungent flavor because most Robusta worldwide is grown in low-altitude areas. The flavor differences produced by different regions and climates are not too significant, lacking individuality. When unroasted, it smells like raw peanuts. Cheap Robusta coffee beans usually exhibit flavors between "wheat tea taste" (light to medium roast) and "rubber tire taste" (dark roast) after roasting, making it difficult to present delicate flavors.

Bourbon

Bourbon has the same tall height and conical shape as Typica, but Bourbon has more secondary branches, appearing denser. Both the main trunk and branches are thicker, making it sturdier than Typica but relatively less flexible. The branches are more密集, and this increased density means Bourbon can produce about 30% more coffee cherries than Typica.

Bourbon leaves are wider than Typica, with a rough texture and wavy edges. Young leaves are usually green but sometimes have bronze tips. The coffee cherries are round and turn into various colors when ripe, such as red, orange, or yellow (but colors on the same plant are consistent).

Pink Bourbon

Pink Bourbon is a hybrid of Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon. As the name suggests, its coffee cherries turn a romantic pink color when ripe, belonging to a very rare variety. Because the color of coffee fruits is determined by recessive genes in pollen grains, this leads to instability in the color of coffee tree fruits. The yellow genes leaning toward Yellow Bourbon and the red genes leaning toward Red Bourbon interfere with each other, making it difficult to maintain this beautiful pink color, sometimes resulting in orange Bourbon. However, it must be mentioned that Pink Bourbon actually has very good disease resistance and a special flavor.

Knowledge Point

Caturra has strong adaptability, doesn't require shade trees, and can thrive under direct exposure to the sun, making it known as Sun Coffee. It can adapt to high-density planting but requires more fertilization, increasing costs, so it was not initially accepted by coffee farmers.

In short: FrontStreet Coffee is a research-oriented coffee shop that loves to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation just to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Additionally, we hold three discounted coffee activities every month because FrontStreet Coffee wants to provide more friends with the best coffee at the lowest prices. This has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past six years!

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

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