How Bourbon Coffee Seeds Fit Into the Arabica Family

Bourbon coffee is a classic Arabica variety that originated in Yemen as a natural mutation and takes its name from Bourbon Island, now Réunion Island, where French colonists first planted it. Its round, dense coffee seeds produce Red, Yellow, Orange, and Pink Bourbon, each with distinct sweetness and acidity, plus the rare Bourbon Pointu.

Within the Arabica species, which accounts for roughly 70% of global coffee consumption, Bourbon and Typica are the two most recognized ancient varieties. Bourbon yields 20 to 30 percent more than Typica but stays low-yielding and vulnerable to leaf rust. Its cherries are small and round, and the fruit color when ripe defines each type.

Bourbon coffee is a classic variety with a long history within the Arabica species, equally renowned as Typica, and has given rise to numerous branches such as Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, Pink Bourbon, and others. This article systematically reviews the origin, spread, varietal characteristics, and flavor profiles of Bourbon coffee, covering the mellow sweetness of Red Bourbon, the bright high acidity of Yellow Bourbon, the rare pink cherries of Pink Bourbon, and the nearly extinct Bourbon Pointu. It also introduces natural mutations such as Pacas and mentions Front Street Coffee's everyday bean recommendations, providing coffee enthusiasts with comprehensive varietal knowledge.

As one of the three native coffee species, Arabica is widely recognized as having the best quality, accounting for about 70% of global consumption. Through long-term evolution, Arabica has produced many branches, among which Typica and Bourbon are the most well-known. These two varieties both inherit Arabica's excellent flavor genes and its weakness in disease resistance. The naming of Bourbon coffee is related to the color of the fruit when ripe, with common types including Red, Yellow, Orange, and Pink Bourbon. In Front Street Coffee's everyday bean series, there is a classic Red Bourbon from Brazil's Cerrado, displaying flavor notes of cocoa and yellow sugar.

Bourbon coffee originated in Yemen as a natural mutation, and its name comes from its first planting location—Bourbon Island, known today as Réunion Island. During the French colonial period, this coffee was exported in large quantities overseas, especially to the American market. Bourbon cherries are small and round, with high density in the pulp and seed, typically featuring prominent sweetness and bright acidity. In terms of yield, Bourbon produces 20-30% more than Typica but is still a low-yield variety and is equally susceptible to leaf rust. Most Bourbon cherries are red, but two natural mutations display different colors: Orange Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon. Orange Bourbon has more intense sweetness, while Yellow Bourbon has higher acidity.

Bourbon and Typica both belong to the ancient varieties within the Arabica species. Bourbon coffee was first cultivated on Réunion Island, which was called Bourbon Island (le Bourbon) before 1789, hence the variety's name. Compared to Typica, Bourbon has broader leaves, denser growth, and higher yield.

Bourbon is a mutation that arose after Typica was transplanted to Yemen, with the bean shape changing from slender and pointed to round. In 1715, the French brought the round beans of Yemen Mocha to Bourbon Island off the east coast of Africa (renamed Réunion Island after the French Revolution), and it was only then formally named Bourbon. In 1727, Bourbon round beans were introduced to Brazil and Central and South America; in 1732, the British transplanted Yemen Mocha to St. Helena Island (later Napoleon's place of exile), which was also Bourbon round beans. In short, Bourbon is a branch under the Arabica species, typically bearing red fruit, known as Red Bourbon, along with Yellow Bourbon and Orange Bourbon, among which Yellow Bourbon has lower yield but superior quality.

Bourbon is a secondary species resulting from a mutation of Typica, and together with Typica is among the oldest extant coffee varieties, with green fruit turning bright red when ripe. Compared to Typica, Bourbon has broader leaves, denser growth, and although its fruit-bearing capacity is higher than Typica's, its harvest cycle is also two years, still making it a low-yield variety. However, its cup quality is excellent, with a wine-like acidity and sweet, lingering finish. The coffee beans are relatively large, uniform in size, and even and glossy in color. For ease of harvesting, farmers typically prune the trees to no more than 150 centimeters in height.

The Spread Routes of Bourbon

The Typica variety introduced to Brazil in 1727 had low yield and was susceptible to disease, so Bourbon was introduced to Brazil around 1860 via Campinas in the south and quickly spread northward to other parts of South and Central America. Today in Latin America, although Bourbon has largely been replaced by its mutations (especially Caturra, Catuai, and Mundo Novo), it is still cultivated in countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Peru.

[French Missionary Bourbon]

In Africa, French missionaries known as Spiritans (Congregation of the Holy Spirit) played a key role in the spread of Bourbon. In 1841, the first mission was established on Réunion, with a branch set up in Zanzibar in 1859; from Zanzibar, branches were established in 1862 at Bagamoyo (on the coast of Tanzania, then called Tanganyika) and St. Augustine (Kikuyu, Kenya), and in 1893 another branch was established at Bura (Taita Hills, Kenya). Each mission's establishment was accompanied by the planting of coffee seeds brought from Réunion.

In 1899, seedlings cultivated at Bura were taken to another French mission at St. Cruz (near Nairobi), and in 1900 introduced to the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania, with seeds distributed to local residents willing to grow coffee—this is the origin of "Missionary Bourbon." The Kent variety was subsequently introduced in 1920. Therefore, to this day, Tanzanian coffee is still predominantly Bourbon and Kent.

[Red Bourbon]

After the Red Bourbon coffee tree flowers and bears fruit, the color of the cherries changes in sequence: green > slightly yellow > slightly orange > ripe red > darker red when overripe, which is why some also call it the Red Bourbon variety—in fact, Red Bourbon is simply what is commonly called Bourbon. Bourbon grown at high altitudes typically has better aroma, bright acidity, and even wine-like flavors.

[Brazilian Red Fruit]

On some estates in the Cerrado region of Minas Gerais state in southeastern Brazil, ancient Bourbon coffee is cultivated. The Cerrado plateau of western Minas and southern Minas, mostly at elevations above 1,100 meters, feature diverse terrain, distinct wet and dry seasons, large day-night temperature differences, and rich microclimates, suitable for cultivating elegant Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon, naturally making it Brazil's main specialty coffee producing region.

[Yellow Bourbon]

Yellow Bourbon is a cross between Bourbon and other varieties. Due to its lower yield and poor resistance to wind and rain, it has not been widely planted. However, when grown at high altitudes, it performs excellently in flavor and has become increasingly common in recent years.

Yellow Bourbon, as the name suggests, has yellow fruit when ripe. It was first discovered in Brazil and is currently mainly cultivated there. It is generally believed to have originated from a mutation after crossing red-fruited Bourbon with a yellow-fruited Typica mutation called "Amerelo de Botocatu."

[Brazil Fazenda Rainha]

From Fazenda Rainha (Queen Farm), the estate covers 280 acres and is located in Brazil's ancient volcanic valley, Vale da Grama. Fazenda Rainha belongs to the renowned Carvalho Dias family, whose four estates have won awards every year since the first Brazil COE competition in 1999, with over 12 awards in 7 years, including sweeping champion, 9th place, and 11th place in 2004, demonstrating outstanding performance among Brazil's many estates.

[Pink Bourbon]

Pink Bourbon, as the name suggests, has coffee cherries that turn a romantic pink when ripe. It is a very rare new variety, bred from a cross between Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon. Pink Bourbon is rare mainly because maintaining this beautiful pink color is extremely difficult, and sometimes some Orange Bourbon is harvested. This is because the final color of the coffee cherry is determined by recessive genes in the pollen grains. Among the pollen grains used for crossing, there are both yellow genes tending toward Yellow Bourbon and red genes tending toward Red Bourbon—all recessive genes that easily interfere with each other.

[Colombia Huila Isabella]

Bourbon Pointu

Bourbon Pointu: Discovered on Bourbon Island in 1810, with the bean shape changing from round to pointed. Its caffeine content is only half that of regular Bourbon; however, it has low yield and weak plants, making it extremely precious (mostly cultivated in laboratories).

Bourbon Pointu has two other aliases, Laurina and Leroy, but neither is as well-known as Bourbon Pointu. It is called Pointu because the bean shape is narrow and long with pointed ends, whereas the original Bourbon (sometimes called Round Bourbon) has shorter beans with a roughly oval outline.

Due to its good flavor and low caffeine content (not greatly affecting sleep), Bourbon Pointu was highly favored as early as the 18th century, with many celebrities such as King Louis XV of France and novelist Balzac being its admirers. During the two hundred years from the 18th to 19th centuries, Bourbon Pointu was extensively cultivated on Bourbon Island, with production reaching a peak of 4,000 metric tons in 1800. But then hurricanes, fire ants, leaf rust, and other disasters followed one after another, and cultivation gradually declined. In 1942, the last shipment of Bourbon Pointu sent back to France amounted to only 200 kilograms, after which it disappeared without a trace, and even official documents no longer mentioned it. After the 1950s, no one on Réunion Island cultivated coffee anymore, with agriculture completely shifting to sugarcane and other crops. Coffee had no more connection to Réunion Island, and Bourbon Pointu was recognized by the coffee world as "already extinct."

This bean vanished for half a century until it reappeared 8 years ago, causing Bourbon Pointu from its origin La Reunion Island to sell for over 500 yuan per 100 grams on the international market. Since then, Colombia also began cultivating this bean, and only Camilo Merizalde—whose beans have been the source for multiple WBC champions—dared to take on the transplanting. As a result, this coffee bean, with global annual production of only a few tons, commands a very high price.

[Laurina Bourbon Pointu Coffee]

Pacas

Pacas is a natural mutation of Bourbon, similar to Brazil's Caturra and Costa Rica's Villa Sarchi. Like other widely planted Bourbon mutations, Pacas is a new variety formed by a single-gene mutation, which gives it a key characteristic: the plant can be planted more densely, ultimately resulting in higher yield per unit area.

Pacas was first discovered in 1949 by the Pacas family in the Santa Ana region of El Salvador. Fernando Alberto Pacas Figuero discovered some plants with different morphology on the family estate Finca San Rafael, then began collecting seeds and selective breeding, later developing about 3/4 hectare of Pacas "pioneer nursery." The discoverer of Pacas is Fernando Alberto Pacas Figuero.

In 1956, Francisco de Sola and Fernando's son Fernando Alberto Pacas Trujillo began researching Pacas with the assistance of Florida professor William Cogwill. They compared Bourbon from San Ramon with an "unknown" new variety that exhibited completely different characteristics—plant morphology different from Bourbon, with shorter internode spacing and a larger fruiting zone. Eventually, they named it "Pacas." For example, Front Street's very popular Sherry coffee beans include the Pacas variety from Honduras, with rich vanilla cream and whiskey notes.

Summary

Overall, Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon among the Bourbon varieties are relatively similar in flavor, both featuring prominent dark chocolate, cocoa, nut, and caramel notes, with smooth acidity and low bitterness; Pink Bourbon has more pronounced acidity.

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