The Wandering Journey of Bourbon Coffee Varieties - Red Bourbon's Wine-like Aroma

Introduction to Bourbon Coffee Varieties by FrontStreet Coffee

When it comes to famous coffee beans, besides the renowned Blue Mountain and Geisha, there is one "colorful" coffee that can be counted among the aristocrats of the coffee world: Bourbon. Bourbon itself comes in many classifications — let's explore them together.

The name Bourbon comes from the island where the variety was first cultivated. In 1715, France transplanted round-shaped Yemen Mocha coffee beans to Bourbon Island off the east coast of Africa (renamed Réunion Island after the French Revolution), and the beans took the island's name. Then in 1717, the French brought another batch of round Bourbon seedlings from Yemen — the forerunner of Bourbon coffee as we know it.

In 1732, the British East India Company carried Bourbon seedlings from Yemen to Saint Helena Island for cultivation. During the 1860s and 1870s, Brazil introduced the Bourbon variety, where it gradually replaced Typica, and Bourbon then spread rapidly northward through South and Central America.

After 1900, French missionaries carried Bourbon from Bourbon Island to Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and elsewhere. Today, Bourbon is one of the mainstays of high-quality coffee worldwide.

Bourbon Coffee Classifications and Flavors

Bourbon is not actually a single variety. Compared with Typica, it shows far more variation — Caturra, Pacas, and Pointed Bourbon are all outstanding members of the family. And the reason it's called "colorful coffee" is that Bourbon is divided by cherry color into Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, and Pink Bourbon. Below, FrontStreet Coffee introduces the most classic of them.

Red Bourbon

After Red Bourbon trees flower and set fruit, the cherries change color in a steady progression: green, then light yellow, light orange, mature red, and finally a deeper ripe red — this is what we generally mean by the Bourbon variety. Bourbon grown at high altitudes typically has a superior aroma and bright acidity, with flavors that can even recall red wine in the cup.

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you love the sweet, wine-like character of Red Bourbon, FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 is a natural next stop — Blue Mountain's Typica heritage shares Bourbon's talent for sweetness, and few coffees balance acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and aroma as gracefully. FrontStreet's Blue Mountain No.1 comes from the historic Clifton estate, growing at about 4,300 feet (1,310.64 meters), where afternoon cloud cover and mineral-rich soil slow the ripening of the cherries and concentrate their flavor. Washed processed and roasted medium-dark, it opens with chocolate sweetness, a rounded mellow body, and clean, lingering fruit tones — no harsh bitterness, only a gentle, well-mannered acidity.

For brewing, FrontStreet recommends a Kono dripper to emphasize the mellow body: 15g of coffee rested 4–7 days from the roast date, ground a touch coarser than for light roasts (about the texture of white granulated sugar), water at 87–88°C, and a 1:15 ratio. Bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, pour to 120g in slow, steady circles, then finish at 225g once the bed has drained halfway. The result is a cup that is dense yet clean, with a long fruity finish — and because genuine Blue Mountain ships in handcrafted wooden barrels of 15, 45, or 70 kilograms, always look for complete certification and origin documents when you buy.