Queen's Estate Red Yellow Bourbon Coffee Beans: Flavor Characteristics and Varietal Story

Introduction to Brazilian Coffee

Central and South America is the world's largest coffee-producing region, and the output from this area significantly influences global green coffee prices. Among these, Brazil is the largest coffee-producing country in Central and South America and the world's foremost coffee producer. Brazilian coffee can account for over 30% of global production. When Brazilian coffee production increases, global coffee prices may drop dramatically—a force to be reckoned with!

Most Brazilian coffees feature gentle, mellow flavors reminiscent of roasted hazelnuts and cream, with low acidity and subtle yet long-lasting aftertastes. The texture is smooth. FrontStreet Coffee's original mission is to taste coffee beans from around the world, understand every coffee variety, every coffee-growing region, and every processing method, conducting comparisons and establishing a visual database. FrontStreet Coffee hopes that every coffee enthusiast can gain deeper understanding of the coffee world and explore its mysteries together with FrontStreet Coffee.

Recent Brazilian Coffee and Pandemic Impact

The title of the world's largest coffee producer has brought considerable economic income to Brazil, but it also demands significant human resources. Brazil was the last country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery, largely because coffee cultivation and harvesting required massive manpower. Now, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Brazil worries that the outbreak will worsen with the arrival of the coffee harvesting season, potentially delaying coffee exports. Therefore, this year's Brazilian coffee harvest is expected to be delayed.

Benefits of Shade Trees

Due to global climate change, Brazil's coffee-growing areas will significantly decrease in the future. However, recent research confirms that shade trees in Brazil help buffer rising temperatures—undoubtedly good news for growers. Studies show that planting shade trees covering 50% of the cultivation area can retain up to 75% of the region's production capacity.

The Balance of Brazilian Coffee

Compared to other Central and South American countries, Brazil's altitude is relatively low, and it lacks microclimates. Under these conditions, the grown coffee beans have low but sufficiently smooth acidity, prominent nutty flavors, chocolate sweetness, and excellent body. However, some coffee enthusiasts might criticize Brazilian coffee beans for their acidity, considering them too mediocre and lacking distinctive character. This actually demonstrates the nature of coffee culture—with both praise and criticism. A coffee variety's fame comes from withstanding both compliments and critiques.

Fazenda Rainha (Queen's Farm) Introduction

This coffee comes from Fazenda Rainha (Queen's Farm), a 280-acre estate located in Brazil's ancient volcanic valley, Vale da Grama.

In 2011, the farm won first place in Brazil's Cup of Excellence competition. Fazenda Rainha belongs to the renowned and respected Carvalho Dias coffee family. The family's four major farms have won awards every year since the first Brazilian COE competition in 1999, with more than 12 awards over 7 years. In 2004, they even swept first, ninth, and eleventh places. Many large and small farms in Brazil aspire to win awards but find it difficult to achieve, yet this family's farms have won multiple awards year after year. Even the Fazenda Rainha purchased this time has an impressive record: 2nd place in 2000, 3rd place in 2001, and 29th place in 2005. To date, Queen's Farm has won three awards.

The Carvalho Dias family are also founding members of the Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association, and their commitment to coffee quality and environmental protection is evident. On their family farms, they utilize natural waterfalls to develop pollution-free hydroelectric power, becoming self-sufficient in electricity needs (another of their award-winning farms is named after this waterfall—Waterfall Farm). They have built churches, classrooms, nurseries, medical stations, and insisted on maintaining original native flora and forests while continuing reforestation efforts... Taking Queen's Farm as an example, environmental protection is thoroughly implemented. Due to its higher altitude and non-flat terrain, mechanical harvesting is impossible—all fruit is harvested entirely by hand. They cultivate low-yield, high-quality Bourbon varieties, making it a representative estate of Brazil's premium coffee essence!

Brazilian Queen's Farm Coffee Bean Processing System

Mature coffee cherries are hand-picked into cloth bags to avoid contact with the ground. The coffee cherries harvested each day are sent to the farm's processing facility on the same day for pulped natural processing. Using hand-picking and cloth bags for harvested cherries avoids earthy flavors and any improper fermentation. When these harvested cherries arrive at the processing facility, they immediately undergo "washing": the cherries are cleaned, and unqualified or dried fruits (bóia beans) are filtered out based on bean size. The qualified beans continue to the pulping process (using a pulper machine).

The farm grows 200 acres of Yellow Bourbon coffee trees. The rolling mountainous terrain prevents large-scale mechanical harvesting, so all coffee here must be hand-picked.

The farm uses semi-washed processing, followed by drying on drying racks and mechanical drying. After mechanical screening, manual screening is also required. The extensive work requires farm employees to live on the farm year-round. All employees and their families enjoy housing, healthcare, and educational benefits here.

The farm is a member of a medium-sized farm organization in the local Grama Valley, primarily exporting Bourbon variety specialty coffees. The organization's office is located in nearby Pocos de Caldas, and they also have a national-level cupping laboratory equipped with large warehouses. The organization also collaborates with local universities and other institutions on research, including Lavras University—the famous Dr. Flavio Borem from this university's agricultural research center.

Queen's Farm Award Records

• 2014 COE Cup of Excellence 13th Place
• 2013 COE Cup of Excellence 2nd Place
• 2012 COE Cup of Excellence 8th Place
• 2011 COE Cup of Excellence Champion
• 2010 COE Cup of Excellence 20th Place
• 2009 COE Cup of Excellence 6th Place
• 2008 COE Cup of Excellence 14th Place

About the Cup of Excellence (COE)

The Cup of Excellence (COE) program and its trademark are currently owned and managed by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE), a non-profit organization. ACE annually collaborates with COE competition host countries to complete specialty coffee cupping selection and online auctions, while also recommending and promoting anything related to coffee quality improvement. The goal is to select models of specialty coffee in host countries and exchange experiences for industry learning.

About Bourbon Varieties

Early (pre-coffee history) Typica was introduced to Yemen as a variant, changing from slender, pointed shapes to round shapes. In 1715, France transplanted round Yemen Mocha beans to Bourbon Island off the East African coast (renamed Reunion Island after the French Revolution), where it was named Bourbon. The round Bourbon beans spread to Brazil and Central/South America in 1727. In 1732, Britain also transplanted Yemen Mocha to St. Helena Island (where Napoleon was later imprisoned)—these were also round Bourbon beans.

To put it simply, Bourbon is a coffee variety belonging to the Arabica species branch. It typically produces red fruits, called Red Bourbon. Besides this, there are also Yellow Bourbon and Orange Bourbon. Yellow Bourbon has relatively lower yields but better quality.

Bourbon is a sub-variety resulting from Typica mutation, belonging to the oldest existing coffee varieties alongside Typica. When green fruits ripen, they turn bright red.

Compared to Typica, Bourbon has broader leaves and denser growth. Although it produces more than Typica, the harvest cycle is still two years, making it a low-yield variety. However, it offers excellent flavor—wine-like acidity with sweet aftertaste. The coffee beans are large, uniform in size, evenly colored and glossy. For harvesting convenience, farmers prune coffee trees to not exceed 150cm.

Bourbon's Spread Route

Due to the low yield and disease susceptibility of Typica introduced to Brazil in 1727, Bourbon was introduced to Brazil around 1860 via Campinas in the south and rapidly expanded north to other parts of South and Central America. Today in Latin America, although most Bourbon has been replaced by its variants (especially Caturra, Catuai, and Mundo Novo), Bourbon is still grown in countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Peru.

Yellow Bourbon

Yellow Bourbon is a hybrid of Bourbon with other varieties. Due to its lower yield and less resistance to wind and rain, it hasn't been widely planted. However, when grown at high altitudes, it exhibits excellent flavor performance and has become more common in recent years.

Yellow Bourbon, with yellow fruits when ripe, was first discovered in Brazil and currently grows mainly in Brazil. It's generally believed to be a mutation resulting from hybridization between red-fruited Bourbon and a yellow-fruited Typica variant called "amerelo de Botocatu."

FrontStreet Coffee: Brazil · Queen's Farm

• Region: Mogiana
• Altitude: 1400-1950m
• Variety: Yellow Bourbon
• Processing: Natural Processing
• Flavor: Naturally sweet and clean; pulped natural processing makes its acidity slightly bright but well-integrated with sweetness, some even with tropical fruit aromas.

This Brazilian Queen's Farm coffee is 100% Yellow Bourbon, with origins traceable to Bourbon's birthplace—Reunion Island, Madagascar. In the 18th century, French explorers first brought coffee here, so this variety also has another name: French Missionary. In the 20th century, it was brought to the African mainland and then introduced to Brazil. Its derived varieties now spread across Africa and the Americas. Bourbon grown in Brazil produces yellow fruits due to recessive genes.

This Brazilian Queen's Farm coffee uses Brazil's invented Cerezadescascado method (depulping method), a natural processing method similar to honey processing that makes coffee flavors rounder, with effects between washed and full natural processing. The process first uses small amounts of water to remove pulp and skin, then places coffee directly on drying racks for sun-drying, constantly turning to ensure all coffee contacts sunlight. After several days of drying, mechanical drying completes the process to achieve appropriate moisture content.

Yellow Bourbon's origins can be traced to Bourbon's birthplace—Reunion Island, Madagascar. Bourbon grown in Brazil produces yellow fruits due to recessive genes. Yellow Bourbon beans are naturally sweet and clean. Natural processing makes its acidity slightly subdued but well-integrated with sweetness, with excellent balance and tropical fruit aromas.

Processed coffee beans have relatively stable properties and can be stored for long periods. Moisture content is relatively low, and coffee beans are quite large—98% can reach 16 screen size or above, with half reaching 18 screen size.

Roasting Analysis

The green beans have solid texture and excellent flavor performance, with slight orange peel and spice notes. Green bean moisture content is 9.9%.

This bean's relatively low moisture content gives it strong heat absorption. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee's roasting plan is to start at 200°C, then use high heat with low air flow to speed up dehydration. After the dehydration phase, open medium air flow and medium heat for the Maillard reaction, not rushing the time, and finish near the end of first crack.

• Machine: Yangjia 800N, 550g green beans
• Charge Temperature: 200°C
• First Crack: 9'14", 188.9°C
• Development after First Crack: 1'48", discharged at 197.5°C

FrontStreet Coffee test-roasted this bean 4 times and finally chose between 1 minute 45 seconds to 2 minutes after first crack as optimal. The flavor has noticeable sweetness that isn't monotonous, with subtle lemon aromas in the background that are more prominent in the wet aroma phase. The later stages show distinct dark chocolate flavors, with an overall rounded feeling that embodies Brazilian characteristics while remaining lively.

Brewing Recommendations

• Dripper: Hario V60
• Water Temperature: 90°C
• Coffee Amount: 15g
• Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
• Grind Size: Medium-fine (BG#6S)

Brewing Technique

Segmented extraction: Use 30g water for 30-second bloom, then continue pouring with small circular flow to 125g for segmentation. When water level drops to just above the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When water level drops to just above the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from bloom) Total extraction time: 2'00".

Flavor Profile

Naturally sweet and clean; pulped natural processing makes its acidity slightly bright but well-integrated with sweetness, some even with tropical fruit aromas—especially the abundant aroma during brewing is captivating. Fresh sugarcane juice sweetness, black tea, smooth and pleasant fruit sweetness, distinct nutty flavors, balanced and gentle acidity, clean and subtle bitterness, rich chocolate aromas and nutty flavors, bright and refreshing mouthfeel, with smooth and delicate texture.

Red Bourbon

After Red Bourbon coffee trees flower and bear fruit, the color changes are: green → light yellow → light orange → mature red → darker red when overripe. Therefore, it's also called "Red Bourbon variety." Actually, Red Bourbon is what we generally call Bourbon variety. Bourbon grown at high altitudes typically has better aroma and brighter acidity, sometimes even showing wine-like flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee · Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon

• Country: Brazil
• Region: Cerrado
• Altitude: 1000 meters
• Variety: Red Bourbon
• Processing: Pulped Natural
• Flavor: Nuts, chocolate, cream, peanut, caramel

Roasting Recommendations

Brazilian coffee beans are known for their body. To highlight this flavor, FrontStreet Coffee uses medium roasting.

• Machine: Yangjia 800N, 550g green beans

• Charge Temperature: 160°C
• Yellowing Point: 6'52", 145.2°C
• First Crack: 10'46", 186.8°C
• Development after First Crack: 3'00", discharged at 202.5°C

Brewing Parameters

• Dripper: Kono Dripper
• Water Temperature: 88°C
• Coffee Amount: 15g
• Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
• Grind Size: Medium-fine (70-75% pass-through rate with Chinese standard #20 sieve)

For more deeply roasted coffee beans to highlight body, Frontsteet chooses Kono dripper for brewing. The Kono dripper features immersion functionality, utilizing immersion to extract more coffee substances and enhance body. Because its ribs are few and located at the bottom, it allows filter paper to stick closely to the dripper, restricting airflow and slowing water flow to increase water-coffee contact time.

Water temperature of 88°C is chosen as a relatively low brewing temperature to avoid extracting excessive off-flavors from coffee beans during brewing, as darker roasts tend to increase off-flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee uses segmented extraction: 30g water for 30-second bloom, then continue pouring with small circular flow to 125g for segmentation. When water level drops to just above the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. (Timing starts from bloom) Total extraction time: 2 minutes.

Flavor Description

Entry shows obvious sweetness with subtle lemon aromas, rich nutty flavors, and distinct dark chocolate flavors in later stages, with an overall rounded feeling.

Overall, Bourbon variety beans—Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon—are quite similar in flavor, both having distinct dark chocolate, cocoa, nut, and caramel flavors, with smooth acidity and lower bitterness.

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