Yellow Bourbon Coffee and Its Brazilian Roots

Yellow Bourbon is a Brazilian coffee variety named for the yellow fruit it produces when ripe, rather than the usual red. It appeared in 1871 as an accidental mutation in Botucatu, first called Yello Botucatu, and was later formally cultivated by IAC researchers. In the specialty wave it drew attention for its sweetness and citric acidity, and Queen Farm's natural processing helped establish its reputation.

In the 1850s Brazil was already a leading coffee producer, relying mainly on Typica, introduced in the 1720s but limited in yield. Growers seeking better output brought Red Bourbon seeds from Réunion Island, and by the 1870s Red Bourbon was widespread on Brazilian plantations. The yellow mutant that followed has been cultivated for roughly ninety years, though Brazil is not the country coffee originated from.

Yellow Bourbon is a rather legendary variety in the Brazilian coffee landscape. It gets its name from its yellow ripe fruit, and in the specialty coffee wave it has regained attention for its sweetness and citric acidity. From an accidental mutation in Botucatu in 1871, to formal cultivation by IAC researchers, to the meticulous natural processing at Queen Farm, Yellow Bourbon has traveled a winding yet fascinating path. This article will sort out the origin story, genetic principles, cultivation characteristics, and flavor performance of Yellow Bourbon, and introduce Front Street Coffee's roasting approach and cupping impressions of Queen Farm Yellow Bourbon, taking you through a comprehensive understanding of the charm of this unique variety.

Most coffee varieties produce red fruit when ripe, but Yellow Bourbon stands out because its ripe fruit is yellow, and in Brazil it is regarded as a precious variety.

In recent years, this variety has won high praise from coffee buyers and roasters, partly because of its unique and high-quality flavor performance, and partly because of its appearance, which differs from other varieties. Yellow Bourbon actually has a fairly long cultivation history; it was only truly valued and promoted by the market in Brazil.

As a coffee variety, Yellow Bourbon has been cultivated for about ninety years, but to trace its roots, we must start with its paternal and maternal varieties.

In the 1850s, Brazil was already the world's most important coffee-producing country, relying mainly on Typica at the time. Typica was introduced to Brazil for cultivation in the 1720s, but due to limited yields, export volumes declined accordingly. It was during this period that a Brazilian traveled to Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar, with the aim of obtaining Red Bourbon seeds. By the 1870s, Red Bourbon had become the most common variety on many coffee plantations in Brazil.

In 1871, something strange happened. In the city of Botucatu, a variant appeared that produced yellow fruit, which had never been seen in Brazil and had no related records. At the time, this yellow Typica variant was called Yello Botucatu, but unfortunately its yield was not high. Nevertheless, many farmers still began to plant it, because everyone was curious about the color of the fruit. It is worth noting that some researchers believe Yellow Bourbon originated from a natural mutation of Red Bourbon.

The Yellow Bourbon we know today is believed to have first appeared in 1930, at a farm growing Red Bourbon near Pederneiras (SP). Many believe it is the result of natural hybridization between Red Bourbon and Yellow Botucatu. Aside from the yellow fruit, this variety is very similar to Red Bourbon in other respects, and it is more productive.

Its appearance attracted the attention of researchers at the Campinas Agronomic Institute (IAC), including Carlos Arnaldo Krug, who conducted the first formal study of Yellow Bourbon in 1942. Over the following three years, they planted and studied 30 varieties at IAC's experimental area in Jaú (SP).

In the 1950s, the most promising successfully bred Yellow Bourbon varieties were given the code "IAC J," and the research results were made public to farmers. In 1951, Professor Mendes at the same institute conducted a yield study on the varieties being grown at the time, including Typica, Yellow Botucatu, Sumatra, Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon, and Maragogype, and the results showed that Yellow Bourbon had the highest yield among them.

Despite these encouraging results, Yellow Bourbon never became Brazil's main variety in the following decades. Although it was still commercially cultivated, adoption by farmers was not widespread. Because the ripe fruit has a special yellow color, it was often still regarded as a novelty variety.

In the past, during the period when Krug, Mendes, and several professors were conducting research, coffee flavor quality was not the core of plant research. The research focus was usually on yield, plant health, and resistance to pests and diseases. Around the time Yellow Bourbon appeared in Brazil, popular varieties such as Caturra (1937), Mundo Novo (1943), and Catuai (1949) also emerged one after another.

However, under specialty coffee and the third wave coffee movement, Yellow Bourbon remains a variety that can bring people a fresh experience.

In 1942, Professor Krug had already discovered the genetic origin of this color. It comes from a gene pairing called "Xanthocarpa," a word formed by combining the Greek xanthus (yellow) and carpus (fruit).

The growth principle is as follows: plants with a pair of dominant XcXc genes produce red fruit; plants with a pair of recessive xcxc genes produce yellow fruit; in very rare cases, Xcxc plants with one dominant gene and one recessive gene produce orange fruit. In the case of yellow fruit, the substance expressed by these genes is luteolin, a flavonoid that also exists in spice plants such as parsley and broccoli.

Yellow Bourbon trees can grow to 2.8 meters tall, and they mature relatively quickly. According to a 1945 study of 30 Yellow Bourbon varieties, only seven are still used in commercial cultivation in Brazil today.

Because Yellow Bourbon has a relatively low yield and weak resistance to leaf rust, growing it may require more effort than other varieties. Yellow Bourbon is usually planted in areas above 1,000 meters in altitude, and both harvesting and processing require proper care to fully realize the potential of this variety.

The flavor characteristics of Yellow Bourbon are very clear, including sweetness, pronounced aroma, and very prominent citric acidity. It often carries flavors such as ripe fruit and raisins. Researchers recently discovered a certain correlation among sucrose content, fat, and organic acids, and this correlation is related to the quality of Yellow Bourbon. However, so far there is not much relationship between luteolin (the substance responsible for the yellow trait) and flavor quality.

In 2005, IAC restarted research on this variety, but shifted its attention to the flavor experience in the cup. The 30 varieties from the 1945 study were collected again, and 16 of the plants scored more than 85 points in cupping; these were selected to trace ideal lineages. Research led by Professor Gerson Giomo is still ongoing at IAC, as the team is looking for potential varieties that combine high yield and good flavor.

In 2017, in a Cup of Excellence competition, a Brazilian Yellow Bourbon received 92.33 points in the natural category. This lot of coffee was sold at auction for US$126 per pound, 100 times the futures price at the time.

Queen Farm's Yellow Bourbon coffee beans

On Front Street's bean list, there is also a very delicious Yellow Bourbon coffee bean, and it comes from the legendary Queen Farm.

Queen Farm (Fazenda Rainha) is located in the Alta Mogiana region of São Paulo state, north of São Paulo city. This estate is very well known in Brazil and is owned by the Carvalho Dias family. Carvalho Dias owns four major estates. Since the first Brazilian COE competition in 1999, they have won awards every year, with more than 12 awards over 7 years. In 2004, they even took first place, ninth place, and eleventh place.

In Brazil, a country dominated by mechanized farming focused on yield, there are few specialty coffee estates like Queen Farm that use manual picking. Queen Farm is very small, covering only 280 mu, and 200 mu of that is entirely planted with Yellow Bourbon.

One of the most important reasons Brazil uses semi-washed processing instead of traditional natural processing is that traditional natural processing cannot guarantee the quality of large batches of coffee beans. Queen Farm instead uses small-scale refined natural processing, using African-style raised beds for drying, and during the drying process dedicated workers turn the beans and check their moisture content. This improves the quality of the coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Analysis

When FrontStreet Coffee received this Yellow Bourbon coffee from Brazil's Queen Farm, it roasted four batches in total and ultimately decided to discharge the beans two minutes after first crack. At this roast level, the Brazilian Queen Farm coffee has obvious sweetness, but it is not a dull sweetness. There is a faint lemon aroma in the background, and this aroma is more prominent during the wet aroma stage. The finish shows a distinct dark chocolate flavor. The overall impression is relatively round, showcasing Brazil's overall characteristics while still retaining a lively quality.

Flavor Description

The taste has obvious sweetness, with rich nut and peanut butter flavors, and the finish shows a distinct dark chocolate flavor. The overall impression is relatively round. It is a coffee bean that can represent the overall characteristics of Brazilian coffee while also showing its own unique liveliness.

Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style). For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of Front Street Coffee: qjcoffeex

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