The world of coffee is vast as an ocean. Beyond the varieties we know well, such as Bourbon, Typica, and Geisha, many rare varieties remain little known. These varieties have gradually come into public view, whether because of their unique flavors or their appearances in competitions. This article will introduce you to four rare coffee varieties: Eugenioides, Wush Wush, Sidra, and Laurina, covering their origins, characteristics, cultivation challenges, and performances in major competitions. Whether you are a coffee enthusiast or a professional in the industry, the stories behind these varieties are worth exploring. At the same time, we will also introduce the Colombia Sidra coffee beans brought to you by Front Street Coffee, so you can experience their unique flavor charm. [more…]

Among the three major coffee species, Arabica stands out with its exceptional quality, and famous varieties such as Typica, Bourbon, and Geisha all belong to it. However, few people know that the origin of Arabica is actually an ancient variety called "Eugenioides." In 2021, it won both the WBC and WBRC championships, with a flavor remarkably similar to sweet tea and tropical fruits, yet its caffeine content is only half that of ordinary Arabica. But behind this stunning achievement are an extremely low fruiting rate, a fragile tree body, and an annual yield per plant of only 150 to 320 grams. Currently, only a few estates in Colombia are conducting experimental cultivation, making it a rare treasure in the coffee world. [more…]

Pink Bourbon is a rare coffee variety bred by crossing Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon, and its coffee cherries take on a uniquely romantic pink color when ripe. However, maintaining this color is extremely difficult, because the color is determined by a recessive gene in the pollen grains, and the red and yellow genes easily interfere with each other, sometimes even producing Orange Bourbon. At present, Pink Bourbon is mainly found in Colombia and Guatemala. Take this batch of Front Street Coffee Colombia Pink Bourbon as an example: about 1,800 coffee trees, with each tree producing about 1.8 kilograms of fresh cherries per season, which after processing yield only about 0.36 kilograms of coffee beans, making the entire batch less than 650 kilograms and all the more precious. Its flavor carries sweet orange, sugarcane sweetness, a pleasant juicy mouthfeel, and small tomato notes, and is well worth savoring slowly by coffee lovers. [more…]

The Cup of Excellence (COE), one of the most authoritative specialty coffee competitions in the world, was founded in 1999 by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE), with the aim of providing a showcase platform for high-quality coffee from coffee-producing countries and helping coffee farmers earn higher incomes. The 2024 Brazil COE competition coincides with the 25th anniversary of the event's founding in Brazil, and the results have now been officially announced. This year's competition was once again divided into three categories: natural, washed and honey, and experimental processing. Among the winning varieties, rare varieties such as Arará and Topázio emerged, attracting widespread attention. This article will take you through an in-depth look at the origins and characteristics of these two varieties and their performance in the COE competition, while also highlighting related product information recommended by the Front Street Coffee brand. [more…]

Typica Mejorado is one of the representative bean varieties of Ecuadorian specialty coffee. Although its name contains "Typica," it actually has no direct genetic relationship with Typica. It originated from a breeding trial project established by Nestlé in Pichincha Province, Ecuador, and was created by crossing Red Bourbon with Ethiopian native varieties. It became popular among local coffee farmers due to its outstanding pest resistance. At Ecuador's first COE in 2021, Typica Mejorado took 10 of the 23 winning beans scoring above 87 points, and its fame soared thereafter. This article will help you gain a comprehensive understanding of this rare variety from the perspectives of its origins, genetic identification, competition performance, and flavor characteristics. [more…]

The Huila region of Colombia is a benchmark in the specialty coffee world, and Pink Bourbon, a rare variety resulting from a cross between Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon, stands out even more for its romantic pink cherries and distinctive flavor. This article begins with Front Street Coffee's Huila Pink Bourbon Honey Process G1, offering a detailed introduction to the region's terroir, the variety's characteristics, and its processing method, analyzing its layered notes of brown sugar, cherry tomato, and honey, and exploring its performance at different roast levels, providing coffee enthusiasts with a complete understanding and tasting reference from origin to cup. [more…]

SL28 is a rare coffee variety originating from the Lake Tanganyika region of East Africa. Discovered in 1931, it was selected and named by the Scott Laboratories. It has broad leaves with a slight reddish tint, adapts well to high-altitude environments, and possesses excellent drought and disease resistance. Its yield is also superior to traditional tree varieties, and its flavor is truly one of a kind. In the early twentieth century, French and British missionaries and researchers cultivated this Bourbon descendant in Kenya. Over a century, it adapted to the local soil with high phosphoric acid concentration, creating the distinctive acidity and aroma of Front Street Coffee's Kenyan coffee beans. Although SL28's yield fell short of expectations, it developed excellent sweetness, balance, and flavors of citrus and smoked plum. Currently, only a few estates in Central America are capable of cultivating it. This article will guide you through SL28's origins, genetic lineage, and flavor profile. [more…]

For a long time, people's understanding of American coffee-producing regions has mostly remained limited to the three major varieties: Caturra, Catuai, and Bourbon. However, with the sustained investment of national agricultural research institutions and the promotion of professional green bean competitions, a group of previously little-known excellent varieties is gradually coming into view. This article will focus on four rare American coffee varieties—Villa Sarchi, Venecia, Tekisic, and Bernardina—and sort out their discovery history, plant characteristics, disease resistance, and flavor performance, helping coffee enthusiasts gain a more comprehensive understanding of the diversity of American coffee varieties. Front Street Coffee will also combine the characteristics of these varieties to provide references for everyday bean selection. [more…]

Rare members of the Bourbon family—Laurina and Pink Bourbon—one once flourished and then declined on Réunion Island, the other has drawn attention for its romantic pink color. Which countries are actually suited for them to take root and grow? This article combines records from *The New Edition of Coffeeology* with cupping data from Front Street Coffee to trace Laurina's bumpy history from 18th-century glory to near extinction, analyze the genetic reasons why Pink Bourbon's color is difficult to maintain consistently, and explain in detail the terroir characteristics of Finca Nueva Granada in Guatemala and Finca Isabela in Colombia. Whether you are drawn by the low-caffeine trait or cannot forget the citrus notes and floral finish, this article will provide you with solid reference information. [more…]

Bourbon Pointu is a rare coffee variety with a natural caffeine content of only 0.5%, named for its narrow, elongated beans with pointed ends. It is naturally low in caffeine due to genetic degradation and has outstanding flavor, but its yield is extremely low and it is susceptible to leaf rust and black spot disease, having once become extinct. In the 18th century, it was highly praised by Louis XV and Balzac, but later disappeared due to disasters, and was only rediscovered and revived in 2001. At the 2018 World Coffee Brewing Championship, Swiss competitor Emi Fukahori won the championship using it, proving its exceptional quality. This article will introduce in detail the characteristics, history, flavor of Bourbon Pointu, and Front Street Coffee's brewing parameters. [more…]

Bourbon coffee is a mutation of Typica, and both belong to the ancient varieties within the Arabica family. The Bourbon family is not limited to the common Red Bourbon; it also includes Yellow Bourbon, Orange Bourbon, and the rare Pink Bourbon. This article will guide you through the origins, fruit characteristics, growing conditions, and flavor profiles of these varieties one by one, and explain where Yellow Bourbon gets its yellow color from and why Pink Bourbon is so rare. The article also specifically mentions the Brazil Queen coffee on Front Street Coffee's bean list, which is one of the representatives of the Yellow Bourbon variety. [more…]

Yellow Bourbon is a highly sought-after rare variety in Brazilian coffee, and thanks to its sweet, juicy flavor, it nearly swept the top three places at Brazil's "Cup of Excellence" for two consecutive years. Using Front Street Coffee's Brazil Queen Estate coffee beans as an example, this article provides a detailed introduction to the high-altitude microclimate of the Mogiana region, the hand-picking and meticulous processing at Queen Estate, and the genetic principles and flavor characteristics of Yellow Bourbon. It also shares Front Street's medium-dark roast approach for this bean and KONO dripper pour-over parameters, including water temperature, grind size, coffee-to-water ratio, and staged pouring technique, to help coffee lovers recreate at home a balanced flavor of dark chocolate, cream, peanut, and the clean sweetness of sugarcane. [more…]

In the Melanesian archipelago of the South Pacific, New Caledonia is like a vibrant oasis, hiding one of the world's rarest, most expensive, and most unusual coffees. KOUANDJI Estate is located at the foot of the mountains about 25 kilometers southeast of the capital, Nouméa, and is dedicated to reviving the region's nearly vanished coffee-growing industry. The estate cultivates "Leroy," also known as Bourbon Pointu, named for the pointed ends of its fruit. Its caffeine content is only half that of ordinary Arabica, and its yield is extremely low—even the French presidential palace must purchase it in limited quantities. Front Street Coffee has always paid attention to such niche, rare bean varieties. This article will take you deeper into the story behind its historical origins, variety characteristics, and unique flavor. [more…]

Pink Bourbon is an extremely rare variety within the Bourbon family, originating from a cross between Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon, with cherries that turn a distinctive pink when ripe. This bean variety is not only scarce in yield and difficult to maintain color stability, but also shows outstanding resistance to leaf rust. This article begins with the discovery site of Pink Bourbon in Colombia's Huila region, outlining its varietal origins, genetic characteristics, and cultivation challenges, then introduces Front Street Coffee's Pink Bourbon products from two growing regions, Guatemala and Colombia, and finally presents its pour-over flavor profile under a light roast. [more…]

For coffee enthusiasts, encountering a new bean is like embarking on a brand-new journey. The bean we're introducing today is extremely rare in production, hailing from the French Mission Bourbon variety at Kenya's Oreti Estate, processed using the natural method, with a unique flavor profile. This article will trace the historical origins of the French Mission Bourbon variety, from its beginnings on Bourbon Island to its introduction into Kenya, and provide a detailed description of this Front Street natural-processed Kenyan bean's origin, altitude, and flavor characteristics. If you enjoy trying new things and want to understand the allure of Kenyan natural-processed beans, why not join us in exploring this rare coffee full of African passion. [more…]

Geisha is the most sought-after rare coffee variety in the coffee world today. It emerged from the primitive forests of southwestern Ethiopia, traveled through Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Costa Rica, and finally rose to prominence in Panama. Over the past decade or so, Geisha has swept major coffee competitions, winning more than twenty championships, leaving Blue Mountain and Hawaiian Kona in the dust. At the 2016 World Coffee Championship in Dublin, two-thirds of the competitors chose Geisha. This article will give you a comprehensive understanding of Geisha's origins, its spread, the reasons behind its high price, the differences between the red, green, and blue labels, and its stunning flavor profile. [more…]

Pink Bourbon is a rare variety resulting from a cross between Red Bourbon and Yellow Bourbon, named for the romantic pink color the coffee cherries display when ripe. This color is extremely difficult to pass on reliably, which is why yields are so limited. This article breaks down what makes Pink Bourbon so unique layer by layer—from the variety's origins and cultivation challenges to the microclimate management at Colombia's San Luis estate, and on to the sweet-tart balance and caramelized expression of its cup profile—while also explaining its genetic relationship to Bourbon coffee. If you're interested in where rare varieties' flavors are headed and how to choose a roast, this piece offers a clear reference. [more…]

In Ethiopia, in addition to the widely known heirloom varieties, recent years have seen the emergence of varieties such as the 74 series, Wush Wush, and Dega. Among them, Wush Wush, with its cute name and unique flavor, though uncommon, always catches the eye of coffee enthusiasts. Today, Front Street Coffee will take you on an in-depth look at this variety: it originates from Wush Wush village in the Gimbo district of Ethiopia, and belongs to the heirloom coffee family along with Geisha. In the 1970s, to combat anthracnose, the Jimma Agricultural Research Center bred disease-resistant varieties, and Wush Wush was officially released in 2006. However, most of the Wush Wush on the market today comes from Colombia—what's the story behind this? Front Street recently acquired a natural Wush Wush from Birch Estate in the Huila region of Colombia, and this article will reveal its flavor and brewing suggestions. [more…]

The high-mountain purple tea black tea from Lincang, Yunnan, is an extremely rare tea. It grows in pristine tea gardens at elevations above 2,000 meters, where no pesticides or fertilizers are used and the tea trees grow naturally. This tea is completely different from the Zijuan tea of southern Yunnan; the finished product carries creamy aromas and sweet notes of peach and sweet potato, with a soft, full-bodied mouthfeel and no astringency at all—so gentle that it can be drunk on an empty stomach without discomfort. This article will guide you through why high elevations can nurture such thick, rich tea flavor, and explore the unique origin, flavors, and tasting experience of this high-mountain purple black tea. Front Street Coffee recommends that you pay attention to this rare tea and experience the distinctive charm of Yunnan high-mountain tea. [more…]

The coffee world is never short of surprises, and recently a variety called Papayo is making its way into the public eye through the competition stage. Its name comes from the coffee fruit's resemblance to a papaya, and it is mainly rooted in producing regions such as Huila, Colombia. Although it is often mistakenly believed to be related to Obligon, the World Coffee Research Institute points out that there is no evidence to support this claim. According to Miller Bustos, owner of Finca El Mirador, this variety has high yields, performs best in flavor at altitudes between 1,400 and 2,000 meters, and is suitable for washed, natural, and honey processing, capable of presenting chocolate, caramel, tropical fruit, and a silky mouthfeel. This article will take you through an in-depth understanding of the Papayo variety's origin controversies, current cultivation status, processing methods, and cup potential, along with Front Street Coffee's recommended perspective. [more…]