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French Mission Bourbon

Varietals & Genetics

In Simple Terms

French Mission Bourbon is the Bourbon variety introduced to East Africa by missionaries in the early 20th century. It's the direct ancestor of SL-28 and SL-34 - arguably the most influential coffee genetics in Kenya.

What is the French Mission Bourbon coffee varietal?

French Mission Bourbon is the name given to Bourbon plants introduced to East Africa by French Catholic missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The plants came from Réunion Island - the same source as the Bourbon that spread through Latin America - and were established at mission stations across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Their significance is outsized. Trees established at Loresho Estate in Kenya were selected by Scott Labouratories in the 1930s and 1940s to produce SL28 and SL34 - two of the most celebrated coffee cultivars in the specialty world. Both carry the French Mission Bourbon genetic foundation responsible for their characteristic intense, layered acidity and fruit complexity.

The variety in its pure, unselected form is rarely planted today. But its genetic legacy is felt every time you taste a well-made Kenyan AA.