A Short History Of Bourbon

Bourbon. A tasty biscuit, a decent whisky and, as it turns out, a very important coffee plant.

Bourbon is a coffee varietal… think Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, but for coffee. Different varietals have their own genetic traits, influencing how they grow and, ultimately, what ends up in your cup.

And Bourbon is kind of a big deal.

Its story starts with a handful of coffee plants travelling from Yemen to a tiny island in the Indian Ocean. From there, it crosses continents and becomes the parent of some of the world’s best-known coffee varietals.

Three hundred years, one tiny island and a seriously complicated family tree. Let’s get into it.

BEFORE BOURBON WAS BOURBON

15th - Early 18th Century

Like pretty much every coffee story, this one starts in Ethiopia; the birthplace of Arabica coffee.

From there, coffee makes its way to Yemen, where it becomes an established crop. And the Yemenis have a pretty good thing going, working hard to stop viable coffee plants from leaving.

Not that everyone plays by the rules. Enter Baba Budan and his seven allegedly smuggled beans.

Still, relatively few plants make it out. And most Arabica grown around the world today can be traced back to two closely related groups of them: Typica and Bourbon.

Except, at this point, Bourbon isn’t actually Bourbon yet. It’s still a lineage of Yemeni Arabica.For the name, and the next chapter in this tale, we need the French.

And they have an island in mind…

THIRD TIME’S A CHARM…

1708 – 1718

Enter Île Bourbon! A tiny French-controlled island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. Today, we know it as Réunion.

The French want to grow coffee there, so they bring plants across from Yemen. Simple enough.

Except they don’t survive.

It takes three attempts — in 1708, 1715 and 1718 — and only a small number of plants from those later introductions successfully take root.But a small number is all they need.

Isolated on the island, this little population begins developing into a distinct coffee varietal. And because it’s growing on Île Bourbon, it picks up a rather obvious new name.

Bourbon has officially become Bourbon.

ISLAND TIME

18th - Mid 19th Century

And then, for around 150 years, Bourbon stays put.

But it’s hardly twiddling its thumbs. Coffee cultivation takes off across Réunion, plantations spread and Bourbon coffee starts making its way back to France.

And people like what they’re drinking. Bourbon builds a reputation for producing sweet, complex, high-quality coffee, while generations of those original Yemeni plants continue growing in relative isolation on the island.

But nobody’s perfect.

The plants are tall, yields aren’t particularly high and Bourbon is susceptible to some of coffee’s biggest diseases.

Great coffee. Slightly high maintenance. For now, though, it remains an island affair.

COFFEE ON A MISSION

Mid - Late 19th Century

Eventually, Bourbon gets itchy feet.

Some of its first travel companions are French missionaries, who take coffee plants with them as they establish missions across East Africa. Bourbon travels through Zanzibar and into Tanzania and Kenya, where it’s planted around settlements and its descendants become known as French Mission coffee.

Then, around 1860, Bourbon lands in Brazil and things really take off. Growers find it produces more than the Typica already widely grown there, without sacrificing cup quality.

From Brazil, it spreads through South and Central America, finding particularly happy homes in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

Our little island varietal has officially gone global. And its family tree is about to get complicated…

MEET THE FAMILY

20th Century - Today

Going global is just the beginning. Because wherever Bourbon goes, its family tree grows too.

A natural mutation gives us Caturra. Bourbon crosses with Typica to produce Mundo Novo. Then Caturra and Mundo Novo are deliberately crossed to create Catuaí.

But the original is still going strong. Bourbon remains prized for its cup quality and exceptional lots can command exceptional prices. In 2017, a Yellow Bourbon from Brazil sold for $126.10 per pound, setting a then-record for a Cup of Excellence auction.

Three centuries later, Bourbon isn't just another varietal. It's a parent, a grandparent (a sweatshirt ;-)) and still quite capable of stealing the show.

Not bad for a varietal named after a tiny island.