Beverage
Bourbon
A tier
Bourbon is a classic Coffea arabica cultivar that arose on Réunion (formerly Île Bourbon) from Typica-related stock and later diversified into red, yellow, pink, and other fruit-colour forms. Plants are somewhat more productive than Typica with excellent cup potential, rounded beans, and continued susceptibility to major coffee diseases. Cup profile is typically sweet, caramel and chocolate oriented, with bright but rounded acidity and full sweetness prized in Central and South America and East Africa. Bourbon and its colour variants are staples of washed and natural specialty lots for filter and espresso.
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
Grading systems
Grades are placed along a shared scale so systems can be compared side by side.
History
Arabica introduced to Île Bourbon evolved into the distinct Bourbon cultivar under island isolation.
Bourbon reached Brazil and became a cornerstone of New World arabica genetics.
Central American estates adopted Bourbon for quality-focused highland production.
Mission and estate plantings spread Bourbon-type arabica across East African highlands.
Colour mutations and selections (red, yellow, later pink) expanded the Bourbon family.
Specialty auctions celebrated Bourbon lots as benchmarks of sweetness and balance.