This is a Yellow Bourbon lot from a farm in San Martin Jilotepeque called Finca La Esmeralda that we have been so pleased with in the past 2 years, we are paying a hefty premium to the farmer, Benjamin Estrada. What is Yellow Bourbon? It is a variant of the usual red Bourbon type, a classic old varietal that originated on the island of Bourbon (now Reunion), and named for the royal family of France at the time. This type ripens to a yellow color, and seems to have different cup properties. The cherries themselves measure very high sugar values when ripe, but present the problem of being more difficult to pick. A yellow ripe cherry looks quite a lot similar to a partially ripe one. So you need experienced pickers and good quality control to produce a good Yellow Bourbon coffee. The coffee is shade grown and at an altitude of 1600-1650 meters above sea level. It's an ideal coffee for high altitude cultivation, and results in dense physical structure of the coffee seed. This is great for roasting, as it promotes even heat transfer, and less damage to the bean structure. Bourbon coffees tend to have a "classic" Central American cup profile. The farm size is about 11 hectares planted in coffee, 2 of which are planted with yellow bourbon.