Image: Caffeine & Co studio
The Coffee Atlas
Brazil Paraiso Bourbon
Paraiso is a Yellow Bourbon farm at about 1,400 m in Conceicao das Pedras, Minas Gerais, with Cup of Excellence records and variety-level cupping scores.
Flavor profile
avg. of 2 published reviewsScale: 1-10, Coffee Review / SCA-classic-form convention. No Coffee Review entry for a Paraiso lot was found, so this is a variety-level proxy, not a farm score. It averages 2 published Coffee Review scores of Brazilian Yellow Bourbon: Willoughby's Coffee & Tea (Laranjal Farms, Pocos de Caldas, pulped natural, March 2014, 92 points) and Paradise Roasters (Cerrado, Yellow Bourbon, April 2005, 92 points). Neither is a Paraiso lot, the two reviews are nine years apart, one roast was dark, and roasters submit their better lots, so treat the numbers as an indication of what good Brazilian Yellow Bourbon scores, not as this farm's cup. Per-attribute averages are rounded to one decimal. Paraiso's own lots have Cup of Excellence totals (89.90 in 2015, 88.38 in 2020), which are a different 100-point scale and are not averaged in.
What it tastes like
Paraiso is a farm name before it is a coffee style. Fazenda Paraiso sits in Conceicao das Pedras in southern Minas Gerais, at the foot of the Serra da Pedra Branca, where the Cup of Excellence profile lists Yellow Bourbon and Catucai at 1,463 m. An earlier Alliance for Coffee Excellence profile of the same family’s Sitio Paraiso gives 1,400 m. That is high for Brazil, where the Sul de Minas region as a whole is usually quoted well below it.
The variety is the other half of the name. Yellow Bourbon traces back to Pederneiras, Sao Paulo in 1930, either as a Red Bourbon mutation or a cross with Botucatu Yellow, and the yellow cherry comes from a single genetic factor. The same source notes the usual Bourbon tradeoff: medium yields and susceptibility to leaf rust, which is why plantings like Paraiso’s are small and farmed for quality.
In the cup, the two Cup of Excellence profiles describe florals (violet, jasmine, chamomile) with orange, lemon, tropical fruit and honey, an unusually perfumed profile for a natural Brazil. The two Coffee Review lots behind the scores are more conventional: rose-like florals, cacao nib, caramel and roasted almond with gentle acidity. Those are other farms’ coffees, so the radar chart describes Brazilian Yellow Bourbon in general, not Paraiso itself, and the farm’s own competition totals are on a different scale.
How to brew it
Method fit for this origin · editorial guidance from roaster convention
A filter brew keeps the jasmine and rose-like florals and the gentle acidity that reviewers and Cup of Excellence jurors describe.
The caramel, chocolate and almond sweetness suits espresso and milk drinks, though the delicate florals mostly fade.
Immersion suits the soft, silky mouthfeel, at some cost to aromatic definition.
⚠ Fit tiers are editorial guidance drawn from roaster convention; no industry standard scores brew fit, so we show tiers, never invented numbers. Reflects brew guidance commonly published by specialty roasters for sweet, balanced Brazilian Bourbon lots, not an SCA-defined standard.
Altitude & region
Growing elevation, meters above sea level · this entry vs comparison bands
The Paraiso band is directly sourced from the two Cup of Excellence farm profiles (see Sources & data). Brazil Sul de Minas, Guatemala Huehuetenango and Ethiopia Yirgacheffe are shown for scale only, using bands already used elsewhere in this Atlas. Paraiso sits well above the Sul de Minas regional norm.
Caffeine content
Caffeine by dry weight · each gold dot = 0.1%
Caffeine content tracks species, not variety, origin, altitude, or processing: Robusta beans carry almost twice as much as Arabica (about 2.2% vs 1.2% by weight). Paraiso Bourbon is 100% Arabica; no credible per-farm or per-variety caffeine figure exists, so this is a species-level statement, not a measurement of any specific lot.
Where to buy it
Transparency: some links on this site are affiliate links; if you buy through them we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Roasters are picked for genuine, current sourcing of this coffee, never for who pays us.
San Francisco roaster that has sold a natural Yellow Bourbon from Fazenda Monte Verde in Sul de Minas (not a Paraiso lot); it showed as out of stock when checked, so look for the next Brazil release.
View lot→Selection is wide and inconsistent for a named farm or cultivar; check the roast date, whether the bag actually says Yellow Bourbon, and seller reviews before buying.
View lot→Sources & data
- Alliance for Coffee Excellence: Sitio Paraiso (Lote 3), Brazil Naturals 2015Conceicao das Pedras, 1,400 m, Yellow Bourbon, natural, 89.90 points; notes of violet, jasmine, chamomile, green tea, pineapple and honey
- Cup of Excellence Farm Directory: Fazenda Paraiso, Brazil 20201,463 m, Yellow Bourbon and Catucai, 88.38 points (14th); third-generation grower Antonio Fortes Bustamante; patio and greenhouse drying; floral, orange, jasmine, honey and lemon notes
- Coffee Review: Brazil Yellow Bourbon, Willoughby's Coffee & TeaCupping scores (1 of 2 averaged); March 2014; 92 points; Laranjal Farms, Pocos de Caldas, pulped natural
- Coffee Review: Brazil Yellow Bourbon, Paradise RoastersCupping scores (2 of 2 averaged); April 2005; 92 points; Cerrado, pulped natural, dark roast
- Perfect Daily Grind: Catuai and Yellow Bourbon, exploring Brazil's coffee varietiesTraced to Pederneiras, Sao Paulo in 1930; two theories (Botucatu Yellow x Red Bourbon, or a Red Bourbon mutation); sweet, delicate-bodied, complex cup; strong yields in the 1949 to 1951 plantings
- Ozone Coffee Roasters: Bourbon coffee varietyYellow fruit controlled by a single genetic factor (xanthocarpa); Bourbon's medium yield and susceptibility to leaf rust, berry disease and nematodes
- Ritual Coffee Roasters via Crema: Brazil Monte VerdeNatural Yellow Bourbon from Sul de Minas at 1,000-1,200 m; out of stock when checked
- Coffee Review: scoring methodology1-10 attribute scale definition
- Crozier et al.: Espresso coffees, caffeine and chlorogenic acid intake (Food & Function, 2012)Peer-reviewed (Univ. of Glasgow): states robusta coffee beans contain almost twice as much caffeine as arabica, by species