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Orange Bourbon

Varietals & Genetics

In Simple Terms

Orange Bourbon is a Bourbon colour mutation where cherries ripen orange rather than red. Grown in El Salvador, it's valued for a sweet, complex cup and can score highly at specialty level.

What is the Orange Bourbon coffee varietal?

Orange Bourbon is a natural colour mutation of Red Bourbon, distinguished by orange-coloured ripe cherries. It's primarily associated with El Salvador, where it's become connected to some of the country's most celebrated specialty lots.

The orange colour results from reduced anthocyanin expression. Otherwise the plant is similar to Red Bourbon in growth habit, yield, and disease susceptibility.

In the cup, Orange Bourbon from high-altitude El Salvadoran farms shows a distinctive sweetness, fruit complexity, and balanced acidity that has attracted strong competition results. It's featured prominently in Cup of Excellence and is increasingly sought-after as a named single-variety offering - one of a family of Bourbon colour mutations (alongside Yellow and Pink Bourbon) where the colour difference signals something worth paying attention to in the cup.