Réunion, formerly Île Bourbon, is where French missionaries planted Yemeni coffee in the eighteenth century. The population that developed there became Bourbon, ancestral to a large share of the world’s coffee.
Laurina
The island’s other contribution is a natural Bourbon mutation called Laurina, or Bourbon Pointu for its pointed bean.
It contains roughly half the caffeine of normal arabica, entirely naturally.
Near extinction, twice
Réunion’s coffee industry collapsed as sugar took over, and Laurina came close to disappearing. A Japanese-funded recovery project in the 2000s located surviving trees and re-established cultivation.
The profile
Delicate and sweet: citrus, honey, a light body and a clean finish. Elegant, and easily lost to over-roasting.
Availability and price
Minuscule production at extremely high prices. Small plantings also exist in Brazil, El Salvador and Nicaragua.
Brewing it
Filter, light roast, gentle extraction — and a genuine option for an evening cup.