What makes yellow bourbon coffee taste so sweet?

Yellow Bourbon coffee is a Bourbon family variety widely grown in Brazil and a repeated COE competition winner. The sun-dried lot from Fazenda Rainha, a Carvalho Dias family estate that took first place in Brazil's 2011 COE, shows berry aroma even as green bean, with low acidity, high sweetness, and a balanced body.

In the cup, expect nutty sweetness and a long finish rather than sharp acidity. The estate covers 280 mu in Vale da Grama, a volcanic valley, and the family has collected awards since Brazil's first COE in 1999. The coffee grading system and roast level both shape how this Yellow Bourbon coffee performs in a pour-over.

Yellow Bourbon is one of the representative varieties of Brazilian specialty coffee, having won numerous awards in COE competitions. The sun-dried Yellow Bourbon from Fazenda Rainha, selected by Front Street Coffee, comes from a renowned estate under the Carvalho Dias family, which won the Brazilian COE championship in 2011. This bean already exudes berry aromas at the green bean stage, with low acidity and high sweetness, a balanced mouthfeel, moderate body with a nutty sweet finish, and a lingering aftertaste. This article will provide a comprehensive introduction to the background of Fazenda Rainha, the processing methods and grading system for Yellow Bourbon, along with Front Street's roasting analysis and pour-over parameters, taking you deep into the unique charm of this Brazilian specialty coffee.

In the Bourbon family, besides the rare but exceptional Pink Bourbon, there is another member that is quite common in the specialty coffee world — Yellow Bourbon. This variety is widely cultivated in Brazil and has achieved repeated success in COE competitions. The one selected by Front Street this time is precisely the sun-dried Yellow Bourbon from a champion estate. This bean reveals berry-like aromas even at the green bean stage, with relatively low acidity and prominent sweetness. Upon tasting, various flavors interweave in the palate into a balanced experience, with a body that is just right, accompanied by a nutty sweetness and a long finish — a high-quality coffee worthy of careful appreciation.

[Estate Introduction]:

This coffee comes from Fazenda Rainha (Queen Estate), with a total area of 280 mu, nestled in Vale da Grama, a historic volcanic valley in Brazil. In 2011, the estate won first place in the Brazilian COE competition. Fazenda Rainha belongs to the prestigious Carvalho Dias family, which owns four estates and has won awards every year since the first Brazilian COE event was held in 1999, accumulating over 12 awards in seven years. In 2004, they swept the champion, 9th place, 11th place, and other positions, among the many estates large and small in Brazil.

Many estates have yearned for years to be shortlisted but struggled to achieve it, yet the estates under this family have continuously collected awards. Taking Fazenda Rainha as an example, its track record is equally impressive: runner-up in 2000, third place in 2001, 29th place in 2005. To date, Fazenda Rainha has won awards three times.

The Carvalho Dias family is also a founding member of the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association, with a well-known commitment to coffee quality and ecological conservation. Within the family farms, a pollution-free hydroelectric power system was developed using natural waterfalls, achieving self-sufficient electricity (another award-winning estate of the family is named Waterfall Estate after this very waterfall). In addition, they have built a church, classrooms, a nursery, and a medical station, insisting on protecting native vegetation and continuously replanting forests. As for Fazenda Rainha, environmental measures are very thorough. Due to its high elevation and non-flat terrain, mechanical harvesting cannot be implemented, and all cherries are picked by hand. The estate cultivates low-yield, high-quality Bourbon varieties, making it a representative estate of Brazilian specialty coffee.

Fazenda Rainha's Coffee processing system:

Ripe cherries are hand-picked and placed directly into cloth bags to avoid contact with the ground. Coffee cherries harvested on any given day are always delivered to the estate's processing station on the same day for Pulped Natural processing. The purpose of hand-picking and collecting the fruit in cloth bags is to eliminate any earthy taste or undesirable fermentation flavors. When these coffee cherries arrive at the processing station, the "washing" step begins immediately: the cherries are cleaned and separated by bean size, with substandard or shriveled fruits screened out. The qualified beans continue into the pulping process (using a coffee depulper).

The estate has 200 mu planted with Yellow Bourbon coffee trees. The undulating mountainous terrain makes large-scale mechanical harvesting impossible, so all coffee here must be hand-picked. The estate uses both natural and pulped natural processing methods. The semi-washed method involves drying on raised beds combined with mechanical drying. After mechanical sorting, manual sorting is also required. The volume of work means that farm employees need to live on the farm year-round. All employees and their families enjoy housing, healthcare, and education benefits here.

The estate is a member of a medium-scale farm organization in the local Grama Valley, primarily exporting Bourbon variety specialty coffee. The organization's office is located in nearby Pocos de Caldas, with a national-level cupping laboratory and large warehouses. The organization also collaborates with local universities and institutions on research, including Lavras University — the renowned Dr. Flavio Borem comes from that university's agricultural research center.

Fazenda Rainha Award Records:

Front Street Fazenda Rainha Yellow Bourbon Green Bean Analysis

This bean is processed using the semi-washed method (pulped natural, semi-washed) invented in Brazil. This natural processing method, similar to honey processing, makes the coffee flavor more rounded, with results between washed and full natural processing. During processing, a small amount of water is first used to remove the pulp and skin, then the coffee is directly placed on raised drying beds. It is constantly turned during drying to ensure all coffee is exposed to sunlight. After several days of drying, it is mechanically dried to reach the appropriate moisture content.

The processed coffee beans are relatively stable in nature and can be stored for a long time. They have low moisture content, and the beans are also on the larger side — 98% of the beans reach screen size 16 or above, with half reaching screen size 18.

The Brazilian coffee grading system scores based on defect ratio, size, flavor, and cup quality. It is an independent grading system, more complex than those of other countries. For example, in "Brasil Santos NY 2 SC17/18 SS FC," NY2 is the defect ratio grade: the higher the number, the higher the defect ratio. The sequence is 2, 2/3, 3, 3/4, 4. NY indicates that the New York grading standard is used as the benchmark.

Front Street Fazenda Rainha Yellow Bourbon [Roasting Analysis]

The green beans are dense and solid with good flavor expression, carrying a slight orange peel and spice note. Green bean moisture content is 9.9%.

This bean has relatively low moisture content, which gives it a strong heat absorption capacity. Therefore, Front Street's roasting plan is to charge at 200°C, then use high heat with a small airflow to accelerate dehydration. After the dehydration phase ends, open to medium airflow and medium heat for the Maillard reaction. Don't rush the time — drop the beans close to the end of first crack.

Charge weight: 550g

After four trial roasts, the final choice was to drop between 1 minute 45 seconds and 2 minutes after the end of first crack. The flavor has obvious sweetness, but not a dull sweetness. There is a faint lemon aroma in the background, which is more prominent during the wet aroma stage. The latter part shows distinct dark chocolate notes. The overall impression is quite rounded — it embodies the characteristics of Brazilian coffee while remaining lively.

[Front Street Fazenda Rainha Yellow Bourbon Cupping]

Dry aroma: roasted hazelnut, cinnamon

Wet aroma: slight tropical fruit aroma, cream, cane sugar

Flavor: delicate nutty notes on entry, fruity, creamy peanut

FrontStreet Coffee: Brazil Fazenda Rainha Coffee Beans

Region: Brazil, Mogiana Region

Estate: Fazenda Rainha

Estate Owner: Regina Helena Mello de Carvalho Dias, of the Carvalho Dias family

Variety: Yellow Bourbon

Processing Method: Pulped Natural (semi-washed)

Altitude: 1400–1950m

Flavor: chocolate, nuts, caramel, sugarcane, tropical fruit aroma

[Front Street Fazenda Rainha Yellow Bourbon Pour-Over Parameters]:

Coffee dose: 15g, medium grind (Fuji Royal Ghost Burr grinder setting 4), Kono dripper, 88–89°C water temperature. First pour: 30g water, 27-second bloom. Pour to 105g and pause. Wait until the water in the coffee bed drops to halfway before pouring again. Slowly pour until reaching 225g total. Discard the final drips. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Pour-over flavor: The bean is sweet and clean in character. The pulped natural processing gives it slightly bright acidity that combines excellently with sweetness. Some lots even have tropical fruit aromas, and the aroma that fills the air during brewing is especially delightful. The fresh sweetness of sugarcane juice, black tea, soft and smooth fruit sweetness, distinct nutty flavors, balanced and gentle acidity, faint and clean bitterness, with rich chocolate aroma and nutty flavors. The mouthfeel is bright and refreshing, smooth and delicate.

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