Bourbon — the line of sweetness, named after an island
2026-07-06
Alongside Typica, Bourbon is the other great source of cultivated Arabica. Its name comes from Bourbon Island in the Indian Ocean, today the French island of Réunion.
A line that traveled by another route
In the early eighteenth century, the French carried coffee seedlings from Yemen to Bourbon Island. This was an entirely different route from Typica, which went from Java to the Caribbean by way of the Netherlands. As it grew in the island's environment, this line took on characteristics of its own.
From the mid-nineteenth century on, missionaries and settlers spread Bourbon to the African continent and Latin America. In origins such as Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, Rwanda and Burundi in particular, it still holds an important place as a major variety today.
Route
The two routes Arabica took to the world
- Southwestern EthiopiaOriginHighland forests where wild Arabica still grows
- Yemen (port of Mocha)Cultivation beginsShipped from the port of Mocha
- JavaLate 17th c.The Dutch take seedlings from Yemen
- Amsterdam1706Sent to the botanical garden
- Paris1714Presented to Louis XIV, then to the royal botanical garden
- Martinique1723Gabriel de Clieu carries a seedling. The source of Latin America's Typica
- Bourbon Island (now Réunion)Early 18th c.The French carry it from Yemen. The origin of the name Bourbon
- African continentFrom the mid-19th c.Spread by missionaries and settlers to Africa and Latin America
Yield and taste together
Bourbon's greatest advantage is a yield about twenty to thirty percent higher than Typica. The tree carries its leaves more densely, with shorter spacing between branches. And yet its cup is highly rated too: a clear sweetness, soft and rounded acidity, and a full mouthfeel.
Combining productivity with quality, this variety became the foundation of the Latin American coffee industry. But it is just as vulnerable to leaf rust as Typica, and that became a major challenge for breeding in the second half of the twentieth century.
Variations in color, and many descendants
Bourbon has mutations in cherry color. Besides the common Red Bourbon, Yellow Bourbon and Orange Bourbon are known. Yellow Bourbon is a mutation found in Brazil; because it does not turn red when ripe, judging the harvest takes experience, but it is prized for its pronounced sweetness.
Many varieties derive from Bourbon: Caturra, a dwarf mutation found in Brazil; Pacas from El Salvador; Villa Sarchi from Costa Rica. All are mutations that make the tree shorter, which allowed denser planting and more efficient harvesting. Kenya's SL28 is also said to have a Bourbon genetic background.
Trace the family tree and a large part of today's specialty coffee arrives at this island's line. A small island you could overlook on a map shaped the taste of the world's coffee. That is the story.
Family tree
The family tree of varieties (generations run top to bottom)
← Scroll sideways →
- Ethiopian landraces → Typica (via Yemen)
- Ethiopian landraces → Bourbon (via Yemen)
- Ethiopian landraces → Geisha
- Typica → Maragogipe
- Typica → Mundo Novo
- Bourbon → Mundo Novo
- Bourbon → Pacas
- Bourbon → Caturra
- Bourbon → Villa Sarchi
- Bourbon → SL28 / SL34
- Canephora → Timor Hybrid
- Maragogipe → Pacamara
- Pacas → Pacamara
- Mundo Novo → Catuai
- Caturra → Catuai
- Caturra → Catimor
- Timor Hybrid → Catimor
- Villa Sarchi → Sarchimor
- Timor Hybrid → Sarchimor
- Sarchimor → Marsellesa
- Sarchimor → Centroamericano
- Wild Ethiopian coffee → Centroamericano
- Marsellesa → Starmaya
- Centroamericano → Starmaya
The variety family tree puts the connections between varieties and their differences in character into a single diagram.
