How Did Bourbon Coffee Varieties Spread From Yemen to the Americas?

Bourbon is one of the oldest Arabica varieties. It originated in Yemen as a natural mutation of Typica, traveled to Bourbon Island, today's Réunion Island, then spread to East Africa and on to Central and South America, branching into red, yellow, orange, pink and striped types as it adapted to local microclimates.

The colors differ in the cup. Some Bourbons show nutty chocolate notes with low-acid smoothness, others bring citrus acidity and floral aromas, and some combine tropical fruit sweetness with a clean mouthfeel. World Coffee Research classifies Bourbon under the Bourbon-Typica genetic group.

Bourbon is one of the oldest Arabica varieties, spreading from Yemen to Réunion Island and then to East Africa and Central and South America, where it has evolved under various microclimates into a rich array of branches including red, yellow, orange, pink, and even striped Bourbon. Bourbons of different colors and origins show quite distinct differences in the cup: some are known for nutty chocolate notes and low-acid smoothness, some highlight citrus acidity and floral aromas, and others combine tropical fruit sweetness with a clean mouthfeel. This article traces the origins and spread of Bourbon, introduces the characteristics and representative origins of each mutation one by one, and, combined with several Bourbon products from Front Street Coffee, provides specific flavor descriptions and brewing references to help coffee enthusiasts build a complete understanding of the Bourbon family.

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When mentioning the coffee variety Bourbon, what first catches attention is often the color of the fruit. In addition to the most common red Bourbon, there are also yellow Bourbon, orange Bourbon, and the rarer pink Bourbon.

Bourbon is a secondary variety mutated from Typica, and together with Typica it ranks as one of the oldest existing coffee varieties, both being branches under the Arabica species. In the spread of Arabica, Typica's ancestors crossed the ocean to reach the Caribbean; the East India Company, meanwhile, took Arabica from Yemen along another route—to Bourbon Island (today's Réunion Island). The coffee trees that grew along this route gradually diverged from Typica, forming the variety known as Bourbon, which then spread to East African countries such as Kenya and Tanzania, and further expanded to Central and South America.

How Bourbon flowed into East Africa and Central and South America (spreading globally)

According to World Coffee Research, Bourbon originated in Yemen and is a natural mutation of Typica, so its genetic origin is classified under the Bourbon-Typica Group.

The story of Bourbon coffee begins with the French. The naming of this variety is related to "Bourbon," a colonial island occupied by France in the 17th century off the coast of Africa, in the western Indian Ocean, about 680 kilometers east of Madagascar. This global distribution of Yemen Bourbon promoted by French missionaries was recorded and written into history relatively early, so this batch of coffee, tasked with missionary and pioneering work, is also called French Mission Bourbon.

In 1663 the French began to settle on Bourbon Island; in the early 1700s, the French introduced Yemen coffee to Bourbon Island (today's Réunion Island) for planting and named this batch of Yemen coffee Bourbon coffee.

According to historical research, the French attempted three times—in 1708, 1715, and 1718—to transplant this coffee from Yemen to Bourbon Island. Bourbon Island thus became the nursery where the French cultivated Yemen Bourbon coffee in the 18th century. It was not until the mid-19th century that Bourbon coffee was taken off the island to be planted in Africa and Brazil in South America, and from then on it spread widely.

In the mid-19th century, French Holy Spirit missionaries arrived in Africa and in 1841 established a mission on French Réunion Island. With the missionaries' evangelistic journeys, Bourbon coffee began to be taken to Africa and South America for planting.

As for its introduction to the Americas, in 1860 the French brought Bourbon coffee from Réunion Island to South America, first arriving near Campinas in southern Brazil. Because the Typica introduced to Brazil in 1727 had low yields and was susceptible to disease, Bourbon entered Brazil around 1860 via Campinas in the south, and then rapidly expanded northward to other parts of South America and Central America. In Latin America today, Bourbon has mostly been replaced by its mutations (especially Caturra, Catuai, and Mundo Novo, etc.), but it is still grown in countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Peru.

As for its entry into Africa, around the same years as the spread of coffee in Brazil, a French missionary played a key role in the spread of Bourbon in Africa.

In 1862, French missionaries established missions in Bagamoyo on the coast of Tanzania (then called Tanganyika) and in St. Augustine in Kenya (today's Kikuyu); in 1893, French missionaries established another mission in Bura, Kenya (Taita Hills, Kenya). In this way Bourbon coffee spread from Bourbon Island to many places in Africa such as Zanzibar, Bagamoyo, St. Augustine, and Bura, establishing new churches. In these missionary tasks, the missionaries all sowed coffee seeds from Bourbon in the parishes of East Africa, and from then on the African continent also had Bourbon coffee.

Brought by French missionaries to the Americas and Africa for planting, Bourbon coffee took root, grew, and reproduced under the microclimates and soils of various countries, becoming one of today's stars of specialty coffee. To taste the classic red Bourbon flavor, you can buy the single-origin pour-over coffee—Front Street Brazil Cerrado. It uses semi-washed processing, and the medium roast gives Front Street red Bourbon coffee a balanced and rich flavor profile, with low acidity and a soft mouthfeel, easy for first-time tasters to accept.

Bourbon mutations in the Americas (colorful)

In the 1860s, the first batch of Bourbon coffee settled in Brazil. After taking root and reproducing, Bourbon coffee underwent nearly a century of evolution in the Americas and began to produce mutated varieties. These mutations mentioned by Front Street are all associated with beautiful colors, namely red Bourbon, yellow Bourbon, orange Bourbon, and pink Bourbon.

The coffee fruit of red Bourbon undergoes a series of color changes: from green to slightly yellow, then slightly orange, then mature red, and finally to a riper dark red. To distinguish it from other Bourbons (yellow Bourbon, pink Bourbon, etc.), it is called red Bourbon. Bourbon grown at high altitudes usually has better aroma and bright acidity, even tasting somewhat like red wine.

As early as 1850, Brazil had already become a major global coffee producer. At that time it relied heavily on the Typica introduced in 1720, but this bean had low yields. To ensure profits, Brazil introduced Bourbon, that is, red Bourbon, from Réunion and planted it on a large scale.

Yellow Bourbon was first discovered in Brazil and currently mainly grows there; it is a Bourbon mutation unique to São Paulo state in Brazil. Its coffee fruit does not turn red when ripe but instead appears orange-yellow, hence the name yellow Bourbon, and it can be called a treasure of Brazilian coffee. Yellow Bourbon comes from crossing Bourbon with other varieties; because of its lower yield and lower resistance to wind and rain, it has not been widely planted. However, when grown at high altitudes, its flavor performance is excellent, and in recent years it has also become more common. Yellow Bourbon's sweetness and aroma are both more pronounced than red Bourbon's, and it has obvious citrus acidity.

When it comes to high-quality yellow Bourbon coffee, one cannot fail to mention Front Street Brazil Queen. Its beans are inherently sweet and clean, and after sun-drying they show a soft acidity and sweetness that fit together very well, with good balance and tropical fruit aromas. It can not only be used for pour-over, but also performs very well as an SOE for espresso or in a moka pot.

Yellow Bourbon first appeared in 1930 near the city of Pederneiras (SP) on a red Bourbon farm—many believe this was the result of natural reproduction between red Bourbon and yellow Botucatu. Apart from the yellow berries, this plant is very similar to red Bourbon and has been shown to have the same or even higher yield. Yellow Bourbon matures faster, but its yield is lower than red Bourbon's, and its resistance to leaf rust is also weaker than red Bourbon's.

Orange Bourbon is a natural mutation of the fruit-color gene in Bourbon coffee, first discovered in El Salvador.

The cherry fruit of pink Bourbon is usually peach-red or pink, and it is sometimes also called "pink Bourbon." Pink Bourbon is a very rare new variety, developed by crossing red Bourbon and yellow Bourbon. The reason it is said to be rare is mainly that it is very difficult to maintain this beautiful pink color; sometimes some orange Bourbon is harvested, because the color of the coffee fruit is ultimately determined by recessive genes in the pollen grains. Among the pollen grains selected for crossing, there are both yellow genes tending toward yellow Bourbon and red genes tending toward red Bourbon, and these are all recessive genes that easily interfere with each other. At present, pink Bourbon can be seen in Colombia and Guatemala.

In addition to these main-color Bourbons, there are also Bourbon variants on the market, such as Stripped Bourbon, translated into Chinese as striped Bourbon. Like chili Bourbon, it is a unique variety discovered in recent years in the Huila region of Colombia. Although the color of its fruit after setting is very similar to ordinary red Bourbon, careful observation reveals yellow stripes on it, so the estate owner who discovered it named it striped Bourbon.

According to Front Street's research, striped Bourbon is a variety that naturally mutated from the old variety Bourbon and was first discovered in Colombia by Australia's Project Origin team. Compared with coffee trees growing in the same area, striped Bourbon matures relatively later, has a thinner tree shape and sparser branches, so its yield is not considered high. However, it inherits the citrus and fresh sweetness typical of Bourbon, and especially when lightly roasted it often shows aromas of berries and brown sugar.

Having said so much, what exactly does Bourbon coffee taste like? Bourbon coffee has complex acidity and wonderful balance. Front Street Coffee's Bourbon brews with prominent sweetness, a caramel-like texture, crisp acidity, and floral aromas. But depending on where it is grown, it presents completely different flavors. For example, Bourbon from El Salvador may have more cream and toffee notes; orange Bourbon has brighter floral aromas; yellow Bourbon has more obvious acidity and dried fruit flavors; and African Bourbon coffee has more prominent fruitiness.

Front Street Bourbon coffee flavor and brewing comparison

Red Bourbon: Front Street Brazil Cerrado red Bourbon has obvious sweetness on the palate, with a faint lemon aroma, rich nutty flavors, and a distinct dark chocolate note in the finish, giving an overall rounded impression.

Yellow Bourbon: Front Street Brazil Queen yellow Bourbon coffee beans have the fresh sweetness of sugarcane juice, black tea, a soft and smooth fruit sweetness, obvious nutty flavors, balanced and smooth acidity, a weak and clean bitterness, rich chocolate aromas and nutty flavors, and a bright, refreshing, smooth, and delicate mouthfeel.

Pink Bourbon: fresh floral aromas, distinct layers, obvious citrus and cherry tomato aromas, still soft acidity after the temperature drops, with caramel sweetness in the finish, and a smooth, clean mouthfeel.

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