Beverage
Red Bourbon
C tier
Red Bourbon is the classic red-cherry form of the Bourbon arabica cultivar, the most widely recognised Bourbon colour type before yellow and pink variants gained specialty fame. Botanically Coffea arabica Bourbon with red fruit, it combines the family’s sweet cup potential with familiar agronomy across Latin America and East Africa. Cups are often caramel-sweet, with red fruit, chocolate, and lively yet polished acidity and medium body. Red Bourbon is a workhorse of specialty washed and natural lots, roasted for pour-over, espresso, and milk drinks where sweetness and clarity matter.
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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
Bourbon on Réunion included red-fruited trees that defined the original cultivar image.
Red Bourbon genetics entered Brazilian breeding and estate agriculture.
Salvadoran and neighbouring highland farms made Red Bourbon a quality standard.
Great Lakes Africa planted Red Bourbon widely for export washed coffee.
Higher-yielding hybrids displaced some Red Bourbon acreage while specialty retained it.
Direct-trade and competition lots kept Red Bourbon visible among colour-named Bourbons.