Is Bourbon Pointu the Most Expensive Coffee Variety?

Bourbon Pointu is a natural mutation of Bourbon coffee that appeared on Reunion Island, formerly Bourbon Island. Its beans are elongated and pointed at both ends, and it carries a naturally very low caffeine content. Around 1800 annual production reached 4,000 metric tons, but hurricanes, fire ants and leaf rust almost wiped the variety out.

By 1942 only 200 kilograms were shipped back to France, and the plant was widely treated as extinct. Between 1999 and 2007, French and Japanese efforts revived it. Like any arabica coffee bean, it is prized for delicate aroma rather than caffeine punch, and its scarcity keeps it among the most expensive coffee in the world alongside other rare specialty lots.

Bourbon Pointu is one of the most legendary varieties in the coffee world. It is as famous as Geisha, yet stands out for its naturally extremely low caffeine content and delicate flavor. It originated on Reunion Island (formerly known as Bourbon Island) and is a natural mutation of Bourbon coffee, with elongated beans that are pointed at both ends. In the 18th century, it was favored by King Louis XV of France and the writer Balzac. Around 1800, annual production reached 4,000 metric tons. Later, due to hurricanes, fire ants, leaf rust, and other disasters, it nearly became extinct. In 1942, only 200 kilograms were shipped back to France, and it was widely considered extinct. It was not until 1999 to 2007, through the joint efforts of France and Japan, that it was successfully revived. This article will review the cultivation history, flavor characteristics, and caffeine data of Bourbon Pointu, and include Front Street Coffee recommendations and V60 pour-over parameters.

Reunion Island/Bourbon Island: The cultivation history and flavor of the legendary low-caffeine Bourbon Pointu?

For coffee lovers, some names carry a halo of their own. About a dozen years ago, two highly legendary varieties burst into public view and stirred the entire coffee world: one was Geisha, and the other was Bourbon Pointu. But before going into the story of Bourbon Pointu in detail, it is worth first understanding why it could cause such a sensation.

Coffee was originally an exclusive commodity of the Arab world. To maintain their monopoly, Arabs strictly forbade any viable seeds from leaving the place of origin. However, by the 17th century, seeds were still secretly taken beyond Ethiopia and Yemen, took root in the New World, and produced countless descendants. These smuggled seeds were the source of the two major varieties, Bourbon and Typica.

🏼Bourbon Pointu is a variety that naturally mutated from Bourbon coffee on Bourbon Island (now Reunion Island). It gets its name because the beans are elongated and pointed at both ends; the original Bourbon beans are shorter and more oval in outline. But the biggest difference between the two is not in appearance, but in flavor and caffeine content. To summarize Bourbon Pointu in the simplest terms: "naturally extremely low in caffeine, scarce in production, with a delicate and enchanting refined aroma, and one of the oldest tree varieties in the world."

Bourbon Pointu was already favored by many famous figures in the 18th century, such as King Louis XV of France and the French writer Balzac. However, this variety was frail, disease-prone, and bore few flowers and fruits, so it was unpopular with farmers, abandoned, and its numbers dwindled day by day until it nearly disappeared. It was not until 1999 to 2007, through the joint efforts of France and Japan, that it was successfully revived, becoming one of the most expensive coffees today. With its unique flavor and scarce production, Bourbon Pointu coffee beans were loved by European royalty and nobility. Bourbon Pointu coffee beans have bright fruity and floral aromas, blending citrus and cream notes with a velvety mouthfeel, yet their caffeine content is only half that of ordinary Arabica coffee beans. Louis XV of the Bourbon dynasty called it "the best coffee in the world," pushing Bourbon Pointu's fame to its peak.

Bourbon coffee got its name because the place where it was first widely planted in the New World was then called Bourbon Island, which is today's Reunion Island (Reunion) [Note 6]; and the legendary protagonist discussed in this article, Bourbon Pointu, is a naturally mutated variety of Bourbon coffee on the island [Note 7].

Bourbon Pointu also has two other names, Laurina and Leroy, but neither is as well known as Bourbon Pointu. It is called Bourbon Pointu because the beans are elongated and pointed at both ends, while original Bourbon (sometimes called round Bourbon) has shorter beans and a somewhat oval outline. The differences in appearance between Bourbon Pointu and original Bourbon should be immediately distinguishable by looking at (Figure 1) and (Figure 2); however, the biggest difference between the two is not in appearance, but in flavor and caffeine content. If described in simple terms, Bourbon Pointu is "good flavor, low caffeine content."

I will discuss the flavor of Bourbon Pointu at the end. Here I will first talk about its caffeine content. According to statistics, for ordinary coffee beans, the caffeine content of Arabica is 0.9-1.2%, and Robusta is 1.6-2.4%, while Bourbon Pointu is only 0.6%, much lower than ordinary Arabica coffee, and far lower than Robusta. Although it has not yet reached the standard for decaffeinated coffee in the United States, it is already good news for many people who cannot handle too much caffeine but still love coffee.

[FrontStreet Coffee Bourbon Pointu] Flavor: Bourbon Pointu coffee beans have bright fruity and floral aromas, blending citrus and cream notes with a velvety mouthfeel.

Because of its good flavor and low caffeine content (with little effect on sleep), Bourbon Pointu was loved by people as early as the 18th century. Many famous people, such as King Louis XV of France and the novelist Balzac, were its "fans." During the two hundred years from the 18th to the 19th century, Bourbon Pointu was planted on a large scale on Bourbon Island, and in 1800 annual production even reached a peak of 4,000 metric tons. But afterward, a series of disasters followed, including hurricanes, fire ants, and leaf rust, causing cultivation to decline day by day. Finally, in 1942, the last batch of Bourbon Pointu shipped back to France amounted to only a pitiful 200 kilograms, and after that, Bourbon Pointu disappeared without a trace, and even official documents no longer mentioned it. After the 1950s, no one on Reunion Island cultivated coffee anymore, and the island's agriculture shifted entirely to other crops such as sugarcane. Coffee no longer had any connection with Reunion Island, and Bourbon Pointu was universally acknowledged by the coffee world as "already extinct."

[V60 Pour-Over]

Dripper: Hario V60

Water temperature: 90 degrees

Grind size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 3.5

Brewing method: water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, 15g coffee, first pour 25g water, bloom for 25s, second pour until 120g water and stop, wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops halfway before pouring again, pour slowly until 225g water, extraction time about 2:00.

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