Coffee Bourbon Pointu of Reunion Island: How to define a terroir to obtain a «Gourmet» coffee

International audienceNew ways of coffee consumption have emerged with the development of specialty coffees and terroir coffees. Producing coffee in a European country is a challenge according to the cost of labour. Nevertheless, farmers of the Reunion Island, the French island in the Indian Ocean, decided to grow coffee helped by a development project ("Café Bourbon pointu de la Réunion") with the aim of producing a high value coffee for a niche market. Producing coffee on the Reunion Island is not new: the first coffee plants were introduced in the 18th century from Yemen. Coffee cultivation has contributed to develop the island. "Bourbon pointu" is the result of a natural mutation of a Yemen Arabica coffee plant, discovered in 1771 in a plantation near the village of Sainte Marie. The coffee Bourbon pointu, caffeine low, is well known for its special citrus fruity taste. (Résumé d'auteur