Vietnamese Dalat Bourbon Arabica, green unroasted beans - 3lb

These Bourbon subspecies Arabica beans are rare and expensive in Vietnam, because most of the Annam Highlands (Central Plateau) is at too low an altitude for Arabica to prosper. In Dalat, in Son La and other micro-regions, the altitude and climate are ideal, and most of Vietnam's prized Specialty Grade Arabica comes from these regions. Our producers are family farms who practice Safe & Sustainable Agriculture and never use inorganic materials on their groves. 

Bourbon is possible the world's most misunderstood bean variety (after Robusta). There are two main splits in Arabica gene heritage, Typica and Bourbon. Much of the information published about these subspecies is erroneous and copied and pasted from one coffee or blog site to another. It is said that Typica is chocolatey and we have never found this to be true. In reality, the reason Jesuit missionaries brought the Bourbon subspecies to Vietnam circa 1875 is that they were proliferating chocolatey coffees to provide cash crops for struggling farmers, because at the time, chocolatey coffee profiles commanded super-high prices among the elite coffee drinkers of Europe. The other word for Bourbon throughout Southeast Asia is Moka, from which we get our current-day word Mocha.

Bourbon "rests" and undergoes flavor transformation for a much longer period than other varieties. It is noted that it can boast superb flavor profiles that even compare to Kopi Luwak when stored for 4-6 weeks after roasting. Don't try that with Typica!

But you can enjoy these beans straight off the roast. They will give you a chocolatey, fruity taste profile with a caramel finish. Our favorite roast points are 430F, 444F, and 464F. We combine the 430 and the 464 to make our Harlequin Roast profile. These beans are no-fail, great beans to learn from and enjoy.

3 lb. green, unroasted beans for home roasting.

NOTE: These are green, unroasted coffee beans that need to be roasted before they are consumed. (They can also be used to make green bean extract by boiling for 12 minutes in water.)