With Typica and Timor Hybrid (HT), Bourbon is one of the grandma's of coffee. They've all been around for a long time and are still kicking strong.

Unlike HT Bourbon and Typica are not only famous for being parent plants, they cup super deliciously. During the Colombia Cup of Excelence 2023 bourbon got 4 spots.

Bourbon is a very versatile coffee that is easy to work with at every roast. It can be very fruity and bright, but many of them in Colombia are actually more in the chocolate, caramel, and brown sugar notes (check out the note of the COE's Bourbons).

Fun fact according to a study by Cafe Imports Pink Bourbon is no Bourbon. Before some people thought it was a cross between yellow and red Bourbon.

Why is called Bourbon

The Bourbon coffee variety has something to do with the alcohol! They both take their name from France. The Bourbon coffee really shouldn't be called that though. It was brought by the French from Yemen in the XVIII century to the island of Bourbon (today known as La Reunion). And it didn't really catch on to be honest. It really grew later on as it was exported in the rest of the world especially to the rest Africa and the Americas.

It gave birth to many different coffees red, yellow, stripped, Mayagez and chili bourbons. But also coffees that are not called Bourbon like Villa Sarchi, Caturra, Catuai or SL28. That's a lot of grand children!