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Front Street Coffee: Brazilian · Empress Estate Coffee Beans

Country: Brazil 

Region: São Paulo State · Mogiana Region

Estate: Empress Estate (Fazenda Rainha)

Altitude: 1400–1950 meters

Variety: Yellow Bourbon

Processing Method: Natural

Flavors: Nuts, creamy peanut, chocolate, mild fruity acidity

| Yellow Bourbon Variety

Through research, Front Street learned that the world’s Arabica coffee varieties consist of Typica and Bourbon, along with their descendants. Among them, Bourbon and its offspring, popular in Central and South American countries, are grown worldwide and remain the main varieties in many nations, such as the excellent Caturra variety.

The name Bourbon originates from Bourbon Island, today’s Réunion Island off the eastern coast of Africa. In the 17th century, as a French colony, it was named Bourbon Island and only renamed in the late 18th century. In the 18th century, the French introduced round-seeded coffee beans from Yemen to Bourbon Island, where they took root. By 1860, Brazil brought round Bourbon beans back for cultivation, subsequently spreading them across Central and South America, making it the oldest Latin American coffee parent variety.

The Bourbon variety features small, round fruits and dense coffee beans. Grown at high altitudes, Bourbon beans have high sweetness and bright acidity. Like Typica, Bourbon is also an ancient and excellent variety. It has better resistance to coffee leaf rust than Typica, and its flavor is no less impressive. The biggest commonality between Bourbon and Typica is the need for shade trees to block sunlight, which is essential for growth and flavor development, thus placing certain environmental demands on cultivation.

Common Bourbon varieties gradually change color from green to light yellow, then red, and finally deep red when fully ripe, hence the name Red Bourbon. There are also Bourbon varieties that do not turn red upon ripening but instead become the rarer yellow or pink — namely Yellow Bourbon and Pink Bourbon. High-altitude-grown Yellow Bourbon boasts refined flavors and has won top honors multiple times in Brazil’s Cup of Excellence (CoE) competitions. Front Street’s Empress Estate coffee is made from Yellow Bourbon beans, sourced from Brazil’s Mogiana region.

| Mogiana Region

Mogiana, located in São Paulo State, Brazil, derives its name from the Mogiana Railroad Company, which built the “coffee railway” in 1883. This also facilitated improved transportation, enabling further expansion of coffee production in the area. The Mogiana region sits at an altitude of 900–1100 meters, with an average annual temperature of about 20°C. Its hilly terrain gives the coffee good sweetness and balance. Due to the terrain, coffee harvesting is mainly done manually.

This area is very close to southern Minas. Coffee trees are mostly planted among shrubs, grasslands, and other vegetation. Here, many families rely on coffee farming for their livelihoods. Some operate traditional large-scale farms, while others adopt small-scale modern methods. A blend of modern technology and mountain coffee-growing culture produces the highest quality green coffee beans.

| Empress Estate

Traditionally, Brazilian coffee regions prioritizing high yields mostly plant on low-altitude flat lands, resulting in coffee with mild and unremarkable flavors. Empress Estate (Fazenda Rainha) is one of the few high-altitude farms in the area. The ideal hilly terrain and favorable climate conditions produce Yellow Bourbon coffee with a rich mucilage layer, resulting in higher sweetness.

Brazilian Empress Estate (Fazenda Rainha) is owned by the prestigious and highly respected Carvalho Dias family, which manages four major estates. Since the first Brazilian COE competition in 1999, the family has won awards almost every year — more than 12 times in seven years. In 2004, they even secured the championship, 9th place, and 11th place, among others. For years, countless Brazilian estates, large and small, have aspired to win awards, yet this family’s estates have consistently claimed multiple honors.

Empress Estate is located in the Mogiana region of São Paulo State. Unlike many large-scale Brazilian regions focused on quantity, this area has higher elevation, forming a unique microclimate. Coupled with the estate’s manual harvesting of optimally ripe coffee cherries and small-batch, meticulous processing, the resulting coffee beans are mostly premium-grade. The estate’s pride lies in the Yellow Bourbon variety, which has won numerous Brazilian COE awards for its refined and delicate flavors.

Traditional natural processing involves pouring coffee cherries onto cement ground and sun-drying them until dry. Due to the rough processing method, the resulting coffee often carries earthy off-flavors and unpleasant over-fermentation notes. Empress Estate first floats the cherries in water tanks to remove underripe ones before drying. To avoid earthy and fermented tastes, the estate spreads the cherries on African raised beds throughout the drying process, with staff regularly turning them to reduce uneven heating and maintain coffee cleanliness as much as possible.

Due to the high density and high glucose content of Yellow Bourbon beans grown at high altitudes, Front Street’s roasting approach aims to highlight the classic rich aroma of Brazilian coffee while showcasing the inherent sweetness of Bourbon. After multiple trials and cupping comparisons, Front Street uses a medium-dark roast for its Brazilian Empress Estate coffee beans.