What does arabica mean for Bourbon coffee varieties?

Bourbon is a long-standing variety within the Arabica species, and it splits mainly by ripe fruit color into Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, and the rare Pink Bourbon. All three share the same genetic background but differ in flavor and growing conditions. Red Bourbon fruit ripens from green through yellow and orange to red, which is why it carries the red name.

Bourbon originated as a natural mutation of Typica and is considered an old, quality variety. Red Bourbon is often planted above 1,200 meters, where flavor improves noticeably compared with lower elevations, and it shows stronger vigor and better leaf rust resistance than Typica. Yellow Bourbon yields less but often cups better, while Pink Bourbon stays rare.

Bourbon is a long-standing and pivotal variety in the Arabica family. Depending on the color of the ripe fruit, it is mainly divided into Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, and the rare Pink Bourbon, among others. These three share genetic origins but each has its own characteristics in flavor expression and growing conditions. This article will go through the origins and differences of Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, and Pink Bourbon one by one, and include product information and flavor descriptions from Front Street Coffee for the corresponding Brazil Red Bourbon, Brazil Queen's Farm Yellow Bourbon, and Colombia El Paraiso Pink Bourbon, to help coffee lovers more clearly understand the full picture of this classic variety family.

Bourbon Variety

Simply put, Bourbon is a branch coffee tree variety under the Arabica species. Its fruit is usually red when ripe, so it is called Red Bourbon. In addition, there are Yellow Bourbon, Orange Bourbon, and other variants, among which Yellow Bourbon has relatively lower yield but often better quality. Bourbon originates from a natural mutation of Typica and is likewise a long-standing, ancient variety; both belong under Arabica. Common Bourbon coffee fruit gradually turns from green to a ripe bright red, which is the familiar "Red Bourbon." Its fruit is relatively short and round, so it is also called "round-bodied Bourbon." The pulp and seed density are high, with prominent sweetness and bright acidity. However, besides Red Bourbon, there are also Yellow Bourbon, the rare Orange Bourbon, and the even rarer Pink Bourbon.

Red Bourbon

Bourbon is already Bourbon, so why specifically call it Red Bourbon?

The reason is that after the original Bourbon coffee tree bears fruit, the fruit color changes from green first to slightly yellow, then gradually to light orange, and finally reaches the ripe "red," or even a deeper "dark red." So to distinguish it from other Bourbon types (Pink Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, etc.), it is specifically called "Red Bourbon." Red Bourbon is recommended to be planted above 1,200 meters above sea level, where the flavor will be noticeably better than Bourbon beans grown below 1,000 meters.

Both Bourbon and Typica are listed as ancient, high-quality varieties, but Bourbon has stronger vitality and better resistance to leaf rust than Typica, while its flavor is by no means inferior. The biggest thing Bourbon and Typica have in common is that they both need shade trees to block sunlight for better growth and flavor development. However, if the following conditions are met, sun-exposed cultivation can also be used:

The average annual temperature can be between 18 and 24 degrees Celsius.

The planting site faces northeast or east.

There are only six hours of sunlight per day.

Front Street Coffee Brazil Red Bourbon

【Country】Brazil Barsil

【Variety】Red Bourbon, Red Bourbon

【Processing Method】Hand-picked, then processed by the semi-washed method

【Origin】South Minas

【Altitude】700m-1200m

【Processing Method】Semi-washed

【Flavor】High sweetness, clean, smooth, low acidity, with tropical fruit aroma.

Yellow Bourbon (Yellow Bourbon, Bourbon Amarello)

Yellow Bourbon is a Bourbon variant unique to São Paulo State, Brazil. It is mainly named "Yellow Bourbon" because the fruit does not turn red when ripe, but instead appears orange-yellow. If planted at high altitude, Yellow Bourbon can show excellent flavor. It once shone for two consecutive years in Brazil's "Cup of Excellence" competition, with the top three awards almost all taken by Yellow Bourbon, making it popular in the specialty coffee world.

The flavor of Yellow Bourbon usually has nutty and chocolate notes, with balanced and smooth acidity, weak and clean bitterness, and an overall bright and refreshing character.

Front Street Coffee Brazil Queen's Farm

【Country】Brazil Region: So Paulo, São Paulo State, near So Sebastio da Grama

【Farm Name】Queen's Farm (Fazenda Rainha)

【Owner】Regina Helena Mello de Carvalho Dias, belonging to the Carvalho Dias family

【Variety】Yellow Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon

【Processing Method】Hand-picked, then processed by the semi-washed method

【Origin】Brazil Queen's Farm (Mogiana) region.

【Variety】Yellow Bourbon

【Altitude】1400 — 1950m

【Processing Method】Natural

【Flavor】The bean character is sweet and clean. Using semi-washed processing will make its acidity slightly brighter, but it combines very well with sweetness, and some even have tropical fruit aroma.

Pink Bourbon

After reading the introductions to Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon, one can infer that Pink Bourbon is named for its ripe fruit appearing pink. Pink Bourbon is cultivated by crossing Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon and is a very rare variety.

Why is it so rare?

The main reason is that the yellow gene of Yellow Bourbon and the red gene of Red Bourbon are both recessive genes and easily interfere with each other, making Pink Bourbon difficult to produce. In addition, Pink Bourbon looks extremely similar to unripe Red Bourbon, is not easy to identify, and gets mixed together, so its yield is scarce.

Colombia · Pink Bourbon

Country: Colombia

Region: Cauca Department

Farm: El Paraiso Farm

Variety: Pink Bourbon

Processing Method: Washed

Altitude: 1930 meters

|Farm Introduction

Diego Bermubez is a young coffee producer from Bolivar, Cauca. In 2006, after studying agricultural business management, he began producing coffee. From the beginning, he decided to become a specialty coffee producer, applying all the knowledge he gained at university to coffee production. Since then, he has begun participating in coffee quality-related competitions and achieved very good results.

El Paraiso Farm has a mild and humid climate moderated by frequent winds from the Pacific. These climate conditions help give their coffee a tropical fruit aroma.

These coffee cherries ripen very slowly and accumulate high sugar levels, all of which greatly enhance the cup quality of the coffee. At El Paraiso Farm (Finca El Paraiso), in order to maintain consistency in the quality of the coffee produced, coffee is processed using mechanical and also sustainable methods.

Flavor: Overall relatively clean and balanced, with a light and smooth feel, featuring flavors of peach, plum, grapefruit, cream, roasted almond, and cocoa, with a long-lasting finish of tea and floral notes.

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