A variant of BourbonA coffee cultivar; a cross between Typica and Bourbon, originally grown in Brazil: Mundo Novo is a commercial coffee cultivar; a natural hybrid between "Sumatra" and Red Bourbon,... that ripens to a pink color, versus a red color. As a variant, it is not really a coffee varietyA botanical variety is a rank in the taxonomic hierarchy below the rank of species and subspecies and above the rank of form (form / variety / subspecies..., but simply a mutation that has been reproduced through seed selection.
The added challenge to harvest ripe cherries is daunting. (With red bourbon, determining ripe color is easier for the pickers). I first encountered “Pink Bourbon” in El SalvadorEl Salvador coffee had an undeservingly poor reputation for years, marred mostly by the inability to deliver coffee of high quality in an unstable political climate. Unfortunately, agriculture... on the same farm that had the usual Red Bourbon as well as Orange BourbonA variant of Bourbon that ripens to an orange color. While the cup quality is on par with Red Bourbon (and no discernable cup quality differences from the... trees. It seemed pretty clear at the time that the differences in the coffee were not represented in the morphology of the plant. They had simply selected seed from plants that were ripening to different colors, and were able to reproduce that trait in the progeny. Coffee fruit with unique ripened color can occur in other varieties, as we see Variedad ColombiaColombian coffee is highly marketed and widely available in the US. They have been largely successful at equating the name Colombian Coffee with "Good" Coffee. This is half-true.... and CaturraCatimor is a broad group of cultivars derived from a Hibrido de Timor (HdT) and Caturra cross, highly productive, sometimes with inferior cup flavor. The main issue is... plants with a yellow fruit variant as well.
Recent unverified tests have shown Pink Bourbon as an EthiopiaEthiopia, formerly known as Abyssinia, or a coffee cultivar: Ethiopia, or more specifically the Empire under Haile Selassie, was known as Abyssinia. The name is Latin, derived from... Landrace type, but the genetic distinction between Bourbon, Typica and Ethiopian types is so slight when tested, this does not actually mean this variant is unrelated to Red Bourbon. It’s notable that people who plant, sell, buy and roast Pink Bourbon etc, are all invested in claims that the cup is unique, better, sweeter, etc. But it’s difficult to do a true AB test of varieties with plants from the same location, same care, same harvest and processingThe removal of the cherry and parchment from the coffee seed.: Coffee is either wet-processed (also called washed or wet-milled) or dry-processed (also called wild, natural or natural... specifications, etc to isolate the color of the fruit or even variant/variety as the sole reason for taste distinction. It may be the pinkness, it might not. It certainly is the thing highlighted in marketing that matters, and thats the color.
Pink Bourbon is called Bourbon Roseado in latin American countries. See Bourbon for the full definition.
