What Makes Yellow Bourbon Coffee Different From Other Arabica?

Yellow Bourbon coffee is a Bourbon variant native to São Paulo state in Brazil, named for cherries that ripen to orange-yellow instead of red. It belongs to the wider Bourbon family, which also includes Caturra, Pacas, and Kenya's SL lines. Its strong results at the Cup of Excellence helped push it into the specialty spotlight, and its cup tends toward balanced sweetness and creamy smoothness.

In the cup, this type of arabica coffee can layer orange, apricot, chocolate, and caramel notes. Bourbon-family trees, including Caturra, share a tendency to bear heavily one year and rest the next, and Caturra was bred shorter for easier harvest and higher density planting. Kenyan SL28 and SL24 descend from Bourbon but developed their sharper acidity in Kenya's phosphoric-acid-rich soil.

The Bourbon family occupies an important position in the pedigree of coffee varieties, from Kenya's SL series to Brazil's Yellow Bourbon, Caturra, and Pacas, each variant having a unique origin and flavor profile. Among them, Yellow Bourbon, unique to the state of São Paulo, Brazil, has become a highly watched variety in the specialty coffee world thanks to its outstanding results in the Cup of Excellence (CoE) competition. This article will systematically sort out the origins and evolution of the Bourbon family, focusing on the varietal characteristics and producing regions of Brazilian Yellow Bourbon, and present Front Street Coffee's recommended Queen Farm Yellow Bourbon Natural batch, analyzing its flavor profile of balanced sweetness, creamy smoothness, and interwoven notes of orange, apricot, chocolate, and caramel.

Variants of the Bourbon Family Kenya "SL28" and "SL24" are direct Bourbon descendants selected and cultivated in Kenya in the early 20th century by French and British missionaries and researchers. Over the past century, they have adapted to Kenya's highly concentrated phosphoric acid soil, producing Kenyan beans with a distinctive aromatic acidity and spirit, different from Bourbon beans in Central and South America. However, after being transplanted to Asia, they lost their flavor and could not show their characteristics. Yellow Bourbon "Bourbon Amarello" Yellow Bourbon is a Bourbon variant unique to the state of São Paulo, Brazil, with yellow skin. Generally, coffee cherries turn red when ripe, but Yellow Bourbon does not turn red after ripening; it is orange-yellow, hence the name. Because Yellow Bourbon has won almost all of the top three awards in the "CoE" (Cup of Excellence), it has become the darling of the specialty coffee world. Caturra "Caturra" is a single-gene Bourbon variant discovered in Brazil in the 1950s. Its yield capacity and disease resistance are both better than Bourbon, and the tree is shorter, making harvesting easier. Unfortunately, it encountered the same problem as Bourbon—bearing fruit one year and resting the next. Its flavor is comparable to or slightly inferior to Bourbon beans. But its adaptability is stronger, and it can be planted at high density without shade trees. It can thrive even under direct strong sunlight, so it is also called "Sun Coffee." Caturra is suitable for areas from low elevations of 700 meters to high elevations of 1,700 meters, but the higher the elevation, the better the flavor, and the yield relatively decreases. There is also a yellow Caturra variant in Central and South America, but its reputation is not as good as Yellow Bourbon. Pacas "Pacas": In 1935, Salvadoran coffee farmer "Don Alberto Pacas" selected high-yield San Ramón Bourbon varieties and moved them to his farm for planting. In 1956, his coffee trees bore more fruit than coffee trees of the same type. University of Florida professor "Dr. William Cogwill" determined that this was a genetic mutation of Bourbon and named it "Pacas." Pacas has high yield and good quality, and is quite popular in Central America. El Salvador currently has 68% Bourbon varieties, of which Pacas accounts for 29%. Coffee was first introduced to Brazil in the early 18th century. In 1727, the Brazilian government sent an elegant army officer who, under the pretext of mediating a border dispute, secretly brought coffee seeds back to Brazil from French Guiana. It is said that the governor's wife of French Guiana was deeply fascinated by this officer, so at the farewell dinner she secretly tucked coffee tree seeds into a bouquet and gave it to him. Brazil currently has two million hectares of land used for growing coffee, with more than 70% being Arabica. These beans eventually go to large roasters in various countries, which is what people know as Santos (named after the export port of Santos, not a producing region). Brazilian Specialty Coffee Facts have proven that Brazil is also capable of producing exceptional coffee and small-lot coffee. Local specialty coffee is not necessarily provided only by small-scale coffee farmers. Brazil's main coffee-producing regions are Sul de Minas, Matas de Minas, Cerrado, Chapadas de Minas, Mogiana, Paraná, and Bahia. There are traditional varieties as well as variant varieties, such as Bourbon, Mundo Novo, Icatú, Catuai, Iapar, and cultivated Catuai. [Specialty Launch] Brazil Mogiana Queen Farm Yellow Bourbon Natural Brazil Rainha Yellow Bourbon Natural Region: São Paulo, Alta Mogiana area Farm: Fazenda Rainha (Queen Farm) Variety: Yellow Bourbon Altitude: Average 1,150–1,350 meters Processing Method: Natural sun-dried method Flavor Characteristics: Balanced sweetness, creamy smoothness, fruity notes of orange and apricot, chocolate Bourbon beans are almost all round beans, slightly smaller than Typica, later maturing, but with a yield 30% higher than Typica. It is suitable for planting above 1,200 meters, and its flavor is noticeably more prominent than below 1,000 meters. However, Bourbon has a disadvantage: it bears fruit one year and then rests the next. Round Bourbon has strong vitality, and its resistance to leaf rust is better than Typica, while its flavor is not inferior to it, or even better. In 1810, some round beans on Bourbon Island mutated into pointed beans. This is the famous "Bourbon Pointu." Its characteristic is that its caffeine content is only half, its yield is low, and its constitution is weak. It is extremely rare, like a frail aristocratic beautiful youth... In addition, the biggest common point between Typica and Bourbon is that both need the protection of shade trees. If there are no shade trees to block the strong sun for them, it is not only detrimental to their growth, but the flavor of the coffee beans produced is also greatly reduced. "SL28" and "SL24" are direct Bourbon descendants selected and cultivated in Kenya in the early 20th century by French and British missionaries and researchers. Over the past century, they have adapted to Kenya's highly concentrated phosphoric acid soil, producing Kenyan beans with a distinctive aromatic acidity and spirit, different from Bourbon beans in Central and South America. However, after being transplanted to Asia, they lost their flavor and could not show their characteristics. "Bourbon Amarello" Yellow Bourbon is a Bourbon variant unique to the state of São Paulo, Brazil, with yellow skin. Generally, coffee cherries turn red when ripe, but Yellow Bourbon does not turn red after ripening; it is orange-yellow, hence the name. Because Yellow Bourbon has won almost all of the top three awards in the "CoE" (Cup of Excellence), it has become the darling of the specialty coffee world. "Caturra" is a single-gene Bourbon variant discovered in Brazil in the 1950s. Its yield capacity and disease resistance are both better than Bourbon, and the tree is shorter, making harvesting easier. Unfortunately, it encountered the same problem as Bourbon—bearing fruit one year and resting the next. Its flavor is comparable to or slightly inferior to Bourbon beans. But its adaptability is stronger, and it can be planted at high density without shade trees. It can thrive even under direct strong sunlight, so it is also called "Sun Coffee." Caturra is suitable for areas from low elevations of 700 meters to high elevations of 1,700 meters, but the higher the elevation, the better the flavor, and the yield relatively decreases. There is also a yellow Caturra variant in Central and South America, but its reputation is not as good as Yellow Bourbon. "Bourbon" is an ancient excellent variety alongside Typica. Some botanists also believe that Bourbon is a variant after early Typica was transplanted to Yemen. Bourbon beans are almost all round beans, slightly smaller than Typica, later maturing, but with a yield 30% higher than Typica. It is suitable for planting above 1,200 meters, and its flavor is noticeably more prominent than below 1,000 meters. However, Bourbon has a disadvantage: it bears fruit one year and then rests the next. Round Bourbon has strong vitality, and its resistance to leaf rust is better than Typica, while its flavor is not inferior to it, or even better. In 1810, some round beans on Bourbon Island mutated into pointed beans. This is the famous "Bourbon Pointu." Its characteristic is that its caffeine content is only half, its yield is low, and its constitution is weak. It is extremely rare, like a frail aristocratic beautiful youth... In addition, the biggest common point between Typica and Bourbon is that both need the protection of shade trees. If there are no shade trees to block the strong sun for them, it is not only detrimental to their growth, but the flavor of the coffee beans produced is also greatly reduced. Genetic Mutation Varieties strength, caramel notes

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.