What is Bourbon Chocola?

The mysterious Bourbon Chocola variety sold out from our webstore last year in an instant, but where does it come from? What makes it special?

Chocola was the name of a famous coffee farm in Guatemala in the 1800s, first owned by Jose Guardiola, inventor of world-renowned coffee processing equipment. Foreseeing a decline in coffee prices, he sold the farm to a German Coffee Consortium in 1891, making quite a sum to add to his fortune. 

Due to political turmoil during WWII the Chocola land was expropriated and redistributed as part of the agricultural reform. The farm was split - one part was given to the National Institute of Agriculture (IAN) and the other half distributed into little parcels and given to nearby communities.

The IAN was developing a new bourbon variety; it produced slightly higher volume than other bourbon lines and had a reputation for an excellent cup but it remained on an experimental lot. In the 1980s, a farm manager who had knowledge and appreciation of the cultivar and its history came to work at Finca San Jeronimo Miramar. Upon learning that the remaining part of the Chocola farm would be redistributed and the unique bourbon would likely be abandoned, he saved some of the seed and cultivated the plants in a special lot at FSJM.

These surviving coffee trees were almost overlooked again as all of the farm's coffee was combined and sold to large buyers rather than separated out. When the farm was given seeds of the famed Gesha variety, they were planted side by side with the Bourbon Chocola. And as the younger generation has learned and explored all of the variability of the coffee, they've rediscovered and propagated the almost-lost Bourbon Chocola to fulfill its historic potential.

Bourbon Chocola Honey is too limited to release this year, so we’re giving the small amount we have away! The first 100 orders over $30 between 11/26 and 11/29 will receive a FREE 4oz bag of Bourbon Chocola Honey. Set a reminder and place an order this weekend!