FrontStreet Coffee - Bourbon Variety Introduction

The Origin of Bourbon

In 1711, a native Arabica coffee tree was first discovered in Saint Paul, Bourbon Island, at an altitude of over 600 meters. Its mature fruit was brown rather than red, and it was called brown fruit coffee at that time. However, after tasting, it was found to be too bitter and had no market. Therefore, in 1715, the French brought 60 Mocha round coffee plants from Yemen to replace the brown fruit coffee. In order to distinguish it from the "Typica long bean" of the Dutch, who had extremely fierce competition in the coffee market at that time, it was named "Bourbon round bean" or "green top Bourbon" (because the young leaves at the top were green, different from the brown of Typica), and later developed into the current Bourbon.

Characteristics of Bourbon

Bourbon is a variety of coffee tree, belonging to a branch of the Arabica species. It is named according to the color of the coffee fruit when ripe, such as red, yellow, orange, and pink Bourbon. Among them, orange Bourbon has a relatively low yield, while the yield of pink Bourbon is extremely rare.

The Name Origin

The name Bourbon originates from "Réunion Island". The French attempted to introduce coffee from Yemen to Bourbon Island (now Réunion Island) three times in 1708, 1715, and 1718; however, the coffees that survived and reproduced were those from the second and third transplants.

Bourbon in Africa

In 1841, a French missionary established a church in the French Réunion Island. After leaving Réunion Island, he went to several African countries such as Zanzibar, Bagamoyo, Saint Augustine, and Bura to establish new churches, and planted coffee from Réunion Island in each church,从此非洲大陆上也有了「波旁咖啡」.

Yield and Quality

The mature fruits of Bourbon are mostly red, with yellow or orange varieties as well. Bourbon's yield is about 20% to 30% higher than Typica, but it bears fruit only once every two years, so the yield is very low, but the quality is excellent.

Knowledge Point

The two ancient varieties, Typica and Bourbon, have reproduced in different soils and waters of the New World for three hundred years, creating thousands of varieties and hybrid varieties.

About FrontStreet Coffee

In short: FrontStreet Coffee is a specialized coffee research center, willing to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation only to let more friends fall in love with coffee. And there are 3 low-discount coffee activities every month, because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends drink the best coffee at the lowest price, which has also been the purpose of FrontStreet Coffee for the past 6 years!

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473