What Are Arabica Coffee Beans Like in the Bourbon Family?
Bourbon is one of the oldest Arabica varieties, standing with Typica as one of the two great sources of coffee varieties. Variety affects yield, disease resistance and flavor, which is why it matters in specialty coffee. Red Bourbon takes its name from its red fruit, and its flavor and growing performance differ from other Arabica types.
Yellow Bourbon was first found in Brazil, which remains its main producing country, but low yield and poor tolerance to wind and rain have kept it from being widely planted. Pink Bourbon is a cross between Red and Yellow Bourbon, and a recessive gene makes its fruit color hard to keep consistent, so it is rarer still.
In the world of specialty coffee, variety is one of the key factors determining flavor direction and growing performance. Bourbon, as one of the oldest Arabica varieties, stands alongside Typica as one of the two great sources of coffee varieties. This article will guide you through the origin and characteristics of Bourbon coffee beans, and sort out the differences between Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, and the rare Pink Bourbon one by one. Among them, Yellow Bourbon was first discovered in Brazil, and Brazil remains its main producing country today, but due to low yield and intolerance to wind and rain, it has not been widely planted; Pink Bourbon is a cross between Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon, and because it is affected by a recessive gene, its fruit color is extremely difficult to maintain consistently, making it even more precious. Front Street Coffee will also share the flavor and cultivation knowledge of these coffees from the perspective of varieties.
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As is well known, the third wave of coffee gave rise to specialty coffee, and the development of specialty coffee has made people aware of the importance of origin, coffee variety, and processing method. Why is variety important? Baristas at Front Street Coffee often share with customers that coffee is essentially a plant, a crop, a fruit, and differences in variety directly affect aspects such as coffee yield, disease resistance, and coffee flavor.
Although it belongs to the Arabica species, different varieties lead to differences in flavor, productivity, and so on, such as Caturra's high yield and Geisha's exquisite taste... When it comes to varieties, Front Street Coffee believes one cannot avoid the two earliest varieties: one is Typica, and the other is the Bourbon variety to be shared today.
Back to the point, Red Bourbon is so named because its fruit is red. The same logic applies to Yellow Bourbon and Pink Bourbon. Yellow Bourbon is generally considered to be a cross between Red Bourbon and other varieties. Yellow Bourbon When ripe, its fruit turns yellow. It was first discovered in Brazil, and Brazil is currently the main producing country for Yellow Bourbon. In addition to its yellow fruit, Yellow Bourbon also has a relatively low yield and is not tolerant to wind and rain, so it has not been widely planted.
Pink Bourbon is even rarer. Pink Bourbon is obtained by crossing Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon, and the reason for its rarity is that the pink form of the fruit is determined by a recessive gene, which is very easily disturbed, making it difficult to maintain the pink fruit appearance.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
