The History of Arabica Coffee's Spread (Part 3) —The Bourbon Coffee Family

In the 18th century, the classic Arabica variety, Bourbon, took root on Bourbon Island (now Réunion), poised for a global journey. By the 1860s, it had landed in the Americas, and to this day, Bourbon and its many descendants remain the top choice for coffee cultivation throughout Central and South America. Let's explore the prominent members of this illustrious coffee family.

Red Bourbon

This is the quintessential Bourbon variety. Its cherries ripen to a deep, wine-red color, and the beans themselves are typically round. When grown at high altitudes, Red Bourbon develops a superior aroma and bright acidity, often yielding a cup with a wine-like flavor profile.

Yellow Bourbon (Bourbon Amarello)

As its name suggests, Yellow Bourbon cherries ripen to a vibrant yellow instead of the typical red. It was first discovered in Brazil in 1930 and is believed to be a natural mutation resulting from a cross between a Red Bourbon and a yellow-fruited Typica variant known as "Amarelo de Botucatu." While its lower yield and susceptibility to wind and rain have limited its widespread cultivation, it produces an exceptional flavor profile when grown at high altitudes and has gained popularity in recent years.

From my experience at the Kafava Office, a high-quality Brazilian Yellow Bourbon from a farm like Fazenda Rainha can offer a beautifully sweet and smooth fruitiness, prominent nutty flavors, balanced acidity, and a clean, low-bitterness finish with rich chocolate and nut aromas.

Pink Bourbon

A rare and coveted variety, Pink Bourbon produces beautiful pinkish-orange cherries when ripe. It is a hybrid of Red and Yellow Bourbon. The rarity of Pink Bourbon stems from the genetic challenge of maintaining its distinct color. The final cherry color is determined by recessive genes from both the red and yellow parents. These genes can easily interfere with each other, often resulting in orange-colored cherries instead of the desired pink. Furthermore, its appearance can be mistaken for unripe Red Bourbon, leading to accidental mixing during harvest, which adds to its scarcity.

Pink Bourbon was first cultivated by Gabriel Castaño at his Finca La Granada farm in the Huila region of Colombia. His farm, though small, provided the perfect high-altitude environment for the 8,000 Pink Bourbon trees he grew, which helped build the variety's reputation for complex flavors. Initially mixed with other varieties, it was later isolated, revealing a unique cup profile distinct from typical Bourbons. It often features fresh floral aromas, the juicy sweetness of blueberries and green grapes, a cherry-like mid-palate, and a brown sugar finish, with a complex citric and berry-like acidity. Today, it is primarily grown in Colombia and Guatemala.

Bourbon Pointu (Laurina)

Discovered in 1810 by a farmer named Leroy on Bourbon Island, Bourbon Pointu is distinguished by its shorter stature and pointed, elongated cherries. It wasn't until the 20th century that scientists discovered it contains only about half the caffeine of a typical Arabica bean. Its scientific name is Coffea Laurina, but it is also called Leroy in honor of its discoverer.

Due to its fragile nature, susceptibility to disease, and low yields, Bourbon Pointu nearly went extinct. Thanks to revival efforts by France and Japan between 1999 and 2007, it was saved. Before 2000, it existed only on Réunion Island, but has since been successfully cultivated in Colombia and El Salvador.

Pacas

 Pacas is a natural mutation of Bourbon discovered in 1949 by the Pacas family in the Santa Ana region of El Salvador. Fernando Alberto Pacas Figueroa noticed unusually shaped trees on his family's estate, Finca San Rafael, and began cultivating them. By 1956, researchers confirmed it was a distinct variety with shorter internodal spacing, allowing for more fruit production. The plant's smaller size allows for denser planting, leading to higher yields than its Bourbon parent. The Salvadoran Coffee Research Institute (ISIC) began promoting Pacas in 1960, and it now constitutes a significant portion of El Salvador's coffee production.

Caturra

Caturra is a single-gene mutation of Bourbon discovered in Brazil in 1937. It boasts better productivity and disease resistance than Bourbon and has a shorter, more compact size, which makes harvesting easier. Like Bourbon, it can have a biennial production cycle. Its flavor is comparable to Bourbon, but its key advantage is its high adaptability; it can be grown in full sun, earning it the name "Sun Coffee." This allows for high-density planting, which became especially popular in the 1970s when high coffee prices drove farmers in Brazil and Colombia to adopt it, significantly boosting production. Caturra thrives at a wide range of altitudes, with higher elevations producing better flavor, often characterized by fruity and berry-like notes.

Villa Sarchi

Similar to how Caturra is a dwarf mutation of Bourbon in Brazil and Pacas is in El Salvador, Villa Sarchi is a dwarf mutation of Bourbon discovered in Costa Rica. This variety is compact, its cherries are resistant to being dislodged by wind and rain, and it thrives with ample fertilizer and some shade. It is known for producing excellent flavor at high altitudes.

Mundo Novo

Mundo Novo is a natural hybrid of Bourbon and a Sumatra Typica, first found in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1943. After a decade of selection, seeds were distributed to farmers in 1952. By the 1960s, it was widely planted and hailed as the new hope for Brazil's coffee industry. It is a tall, robust plant that produces large, roundish beans and remains a commercially important variety in Brazil and other South American countries.

French Mission

This refers to the heirloom Bourbon trees that French missionaries introduced from Réunion Island (Bourbon Island) to African countries like Kenya and Tanzania in the early 20th century. These trees retain the classic flavor characteristics of the original Bourbon variety.

SL28 & SL34

These are two of Africa's most famous coffee varieties, developed by Scott Agricultural Laboratories (now the National Agricultural Laboratories of Kenya) in the 1930s.

• SL28 was selected for its drought resistance and high quality. It has a complex lineage that includes French Mission (Bourbon), Mocha, and Yemen Typica.

• SL34 was also selected for its high yield and quality at high, rainy altitudes. A distinguishing feature is its dark bronze-tipped leaves.

Both varieties are susceptible to common coffee diseases but are prized for producing the quintessential "Kenyan" flavor profile: bright, complex fruit acidity and a full-bodied, balanced cup.

The Bourbon family is vast and continues to evolve. Many modern hybrids, such as Catuai (a cross of Mundo Novo and Caturra) and Pacamara (a cross of Pacas and Maragogipe), carry on its genetic legacy, further diversifying the world of specialty coffee.