Specialty Coffee Bourbon Varieties: Classifications and Elite Coffee Bean Representatives

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FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Bourbon Coffee Variety

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

Bourbon leaves are wider than Typica's, with a rougher texture and wavy edges. Young leaves are typically green but sometimes have bronze tips. The coffee cherries are round and turn various colors when ripe, such as red, orange, or yellow (though the color is consistent on a single plant).

The name Bourbon coffee comes from the island where it was cultivated. In 1715, France transplanted round coffee beans from Mocha, Yemen to Bourbon Island on the east coast of Africa (renamed Réunion Island after the French Revolution), hence the name Bourbon. Then in 1717, the French brought another batch of round Bourbon seedlings from Yemen, which became the precursor of Bourbon coffee.

In 1732, the British East India Company took Bourbon coffee seedlings from Yemen to St. Helena Island for cultivation. By the 1860s and 1870s, Brazil in South America first introduced the Bourbon variety, gradually replacing Typica. Bourbon then rapidly expanded northward to other regions in South and Central America.

Red Bourbon

Red Bourbon is a coffee variety introduced to Brazil around 1860 through Campinas in the south. It is a typical coffee variety still widely cultivated in Central and South American countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Peru.

Yellow Bourbon

Yellow Bourbon is a unique Bourbon variant exclusive to São Paulo state, Brazil. The coffee fruits don't turn red when ripe but instead present an orange-yellow color, hence the name "Yellow Bourbon." Due to its lower yield and relatively poor resistance to wind and rain, it hasn't been widely cultivated. Yellow Bourbon grown in high-altitude areas exhibits excellent flavor characteristics.

Laurina

Laurina is a variant of Bourbon, discovered on the French Bourbon Island in 1810. The coffee plant is dwarf-type, with pointed, slender coffee beans that resemble underdeveloped defective beans. It has the lowest yield among dwarf Bourbon varieties and is weak and disease-prone. However, its flavor is very distinctive, with special citrus and lychee notes. Its caffeine content is half that of other Arabica varieties, making it naturally low-caffeine coffee.

Pink Bourbon

Pink Bourbon is a hybrid cross between Yellow Bourbon and Red Bourbon. It has particularly strong disease resistance and is extremely delicious. Compared to other varieties, its beans have higher density, and its yield is very low. It grows at altitudes between 1,500-2,000 meters. However, cultivating Pink Bourbon is not an easy task, as it requires careful attention throughout the coffee plant's growth period and has higher environmental requirements.

Another challenge lies in harvesting, as workers find it difficult to determine if the cherries are ripe when picking. The main reason is that the yellow gene from Yellow Bourbon and the red gene from Red Bourbon are both recessive genes that easily interfere with each other, making it difficult for Pink Bourbon to produce consistently. Additionally, Pink Bourbon is very similar to unripe Red Bourbon, making it difficult to recognize and often mixed together. This is another reason why Pink Bourbon is rare.

Knowledge Point

For a long time, Bourbon coffee has been considered among the finest coffees due to its low yield and high quality.

In Brief

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