Imagine being a fourth-generation Coffee Farmer in the town of Yauco, Puerto Rico. This means you've witness good times in the industry, you also been through uneven times, through a Hurricane Maria that wiped out local coffee, but also, thanks to your grandparents' anecdotes, you've witnessed the golden age of Puerto Rican Coffee in the 19th century. This is the story of Don Luis Roig Franceschini, a Coffee Farmer so passionate about coffee, that when we asked him about his love for this precious bean, he replied, "Caffeine runs through my veins."
Don Luis is so aware of what the Coffee Industry represents for Puerto Rico that for the past 33 years he has dedicated himself to maintaining a farm with the most genetically and culturally important coffee variety in history. This variety is called Bourbon and comes from Yemen, but how it gets to Puerto Rico is what's interesting. As a matter of fact, at Cuela we have been following the journey of this Bourbon Estate since 2019, when we didn't even exist, and five years later, this variety is still firmly producing great coffee.
Reviewing some history books we found that the French were largely responsible for introducing coffee to Bourbon Island in the Indian Ocean, now called Reunion Island. This coffee wasn't yet called Bourbon, as it came from the first Arabica Typica variety. The coffee adapted to the island's conditions the third time it was introduced (1817), and thanks to that the French name it the Bourbon. Years later, thanks to the French, in 1860, the Bourbon variety reached Brazil and then every coffee producing country in the Americas and the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico.
The Bourbon variety, along with the Typica, due to their long history and success in cup, are considered the traditional cultivars of the Americas and are responsible for the spread of other Arabica varieties worldwide.
For this reason, we are pleased to share that Don Luis Roig Franceschini, a proud Jíbaro from Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, knows and is aware of the importance of keeping the legacy of Bourbon alive. The property he maintains on his farm in Duey neighborhood of Yauco, at 1,500 feet above sea level, is a historical example of resistance. At a level that in Cuela, we have classified this Bourbon farm as a heritage site for the Puerto Rican Coffee Industry. Sadly Bourbon production has declined worldwide due to climate change and its susceptibility to pests. On the other hand, Bourbon does not have the highest yield, but it does produce an exquisite cup due to its sweetness and creamy body. In Puerto Rico, coffee shortages it’s no secret, regardless of variety. However, Don Luis Roig has been maintaining a healthy five-acre plot of Borboun for 33 years. A positive thing of this plot is that has no neighbor farms that could attract the pests, and the vast majority of the plot has shade trees, which help maintain cool temperatures and the ideal conditions for Bourbon. Don Luis told us:
Normally, a coffee plot won't last 33 years; the norm is to cut it down and replant new plants, but we wanted to preserve it because it continues to produce a good yield thanks to the pruning we do every seven years. We hope that this year these five acre plots of Borbón will produce approximately 40 quintals.
Talking with Don Luis, we concluded that the Bourbon Variety is in danger of extinction in Puerto Rico, but with a coffee grower of his caliber, we know it's in good hands, and he's also a great inspiration for future generations of coffee growers. Don Luis tells us that he has donated seeds to neighbor producers so they can also grow Bourbon, and he has also planted more acres of this variety on another of his farms in Yauco, located at almost 3,000 feet above sea level.
Finally, we are pleased to announce that this Bourbon variety from Duey, Yauco, which we've been talking about, will soon be available in Cuela. Currently, Café Don Luis is the only coffee grower commercializing the Bourbon variety in Puerto Rico. The culturally and genetically most important variety in the world, produced in Puerto Rico, will be part of our catalog of exotic coffees as part of our initiative Cuela Coffee Journeys. Stay tuned!
