Bourbon Pepper: The Colombian Coffee Variety Worth Knowing
Rare, fruity and unforgettable. Here's why Bourbon Pimienta is turning heads in specialty coffee, and why this may be your last chance to try it this season.
Colombia is famous for its coffee. But not all Colombian coffee is created equal. While most farms grow high-yield, disease-resistant varieties, a small number of growers are cultivating something far more interesting: rare varieties with an exceptional cup quality that commercial coffee simply cannot match.
Bourbon Pimienta — or Pepper Bourbon — is one of them.
What Is Bourbon Pimienta?
Bourbon Pimienta is the term for a special variety of coffee being grown in Colombia. Despite the nomenclature, genetic testing reveals that it is not at all a Bourbon variety, but rather an Ethiopian Landrace, belonging to the same group as Gesha, Sidra, and Pink Bourbon. The term “pimienta” or chili refers to both the elongated shape of the coffee cherry and the distinctive black pepper notes in the coffee fruit.
Why Bourbon Pimienta Is So Hard to Find
Coffee plants like Bourbon Pimienta tend to have a relatively low yield compared to some other varieties, such as Caturra or Catuaí. However, the quality of the beans is generally considered higher, which makes it a preferred choice for specialty coffee. For smallholder farmers, that trade-off is a real risk. Fewer cherries per tree means less income, and that is before the challenges of specialty processing enter the picture.
Honey-processed Bourbon Pimienta is rarer still. Honey processing, where the mucilage is left on the bean during drying, is labour-intensive and hard to execute. Local buying points in Colombia typically only purchase washed coffees, so a farmer who honey-processes takes on all the risk themselves. Very few choose to do it.
Try It While You Can: Pimienta Honey by warawul
Our Pimienta Honey is one of the most exciting coffees we have offered. It comes from José del Mar Ordoñez — known to his community as Don Aldemar — who grows Pink Bourbon and Bourbon Pimienta varieties at his Finca Bella Vista in La Esperanza, San Agustín, at 1,850–1,900 metres. José del Mar is part of the monKaaba producer group and is the only farmer in the collective who honey-processes his coffee. We had his honey-process Pink Bourbon last year. This lot is his very first Bourbon Pimienta harvest and we are proud to support his passion and curiosity for experimentation with this purchase.
We’ve roasted the coffee light. In the cup, we taste lemon curd, mango and maracuyá, and a carmelized sugar finish that stays with you long after the last sip. Outstanding as a pour over or AeroPress.
This is a micro-lot. We were able to buy all 48 kg of this coffee. Once it is gone, it is gone.
warawul sources directly from producers like José del Mar Ordoñez and in partnership with values-driven projects like monKaaba and Semilla Coffee, paying farmgate prices well above the national average. Every coffee tells the story of the farm, the person, and the process behind your daily cup.
