What is Saint Helena coffee?
Coffee from Saint Helena island, a British Overseas Territory isolated in the South Atlantic, is one of the most anecdotal and historically significant coffee productions in the world. Cultivated since the early 18th century, it is grown from a unique variety — Green Tipped Bourbon — preserved almost exclusively on the island. Annual production is below 20 tonnes of green coffee, its reputation amplified by the exile of Napoleon Bonaparte, who reportedly praised its quality.
Coffee arrived on Saint Helena in the early decades of the 18th century, introduced by the British East India Company. The island, 1,900 km west of Angola and 2,800 km east of Rio de Janeiro, offered favourable growing conditions: altitudes of 600 to 900 m, mild temperatures (16–22 °C), regular humidity from trade winds, and total geographic isolation that preserved the plants from contamination or uncontrolled crossing for two centuries.
The variety grown is the Green Tipped Bourbon, named for its young shoots' characteristic yellow-green tint (unlike standard Red Bourbon, whose young leaves are bronze). This variety, probably introduced directly from Arabia or the island of Bourbon (Réunion) in the early 18th century, scarcely exists elsewhere in pure form. It produces relatively low yields per tree, slowly ripening cherries and a delicate aromatic profile.
The legendary story amplifying Saint Helena coffee's reputation is that of Napoleon Bonaparte, exiled on the island from 1815 until his death in 1821. Multiple historical sources cite Napoleon's interest in the island's coffee, which he reportedly made his favourite daily drink during his six years of exile. Whether authentic or apocryphal, this association has given Saint Helena coffee a recognition far exceeding its production volume.
Today, production is handled by around ten growers on fewer than 100 hectares of coffee. The main estate is Solomons plantation (approximately 50 ha), selling under its own brand directly and through a few premium importers. SCA scores generally sit between 83 and 87 — decent but not exceptional — with notes of light caramel, citrus, and a characteristic fine acidity.
Saint Helena coffee profile
- Territory: British island isolated in the South Atlantic, 1,900 km from Angola
- Variety: exclusive Green Tipped Bourbon, preserved since the 18th century
- Altitude: 600–900 m, temperate microclimate moderated by trade winds
- Annual production: < 20 tonnes — among the lowest of any known coffee
- Profile: light caramel, citrus, fine acidity, delicate body
- History: legendary link to Napoleon Bonaparte (exile 1815–1821)
St. Helena: Napoleon's Island and One of the World's Rarest Coffee Origins
St. Helena is one of the most remote inhabited islands on earth — a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, 1,900 kilometers from the coast of Angola, accessible only by sea (a commercial airport opened in 2016 but regular scheduled service remains limited). It is also, for reasons that combine historical accident and extraordinary terroir, one of the rarest coffee origins in the world. Coffee was introduced to St. Helena in 1732 from Yemen by the British East India Company, and the Green Tipped Bourbon variety that has grown on the island for nearly three centuries has adapted to the island's unique climate and volcanic soil in ways that produce a cup profile unlike anything found on the mainland — a profile that famously impressed Napoleon Bonaparte during his exile on the island from 1815 until his death in 1821.
The cup profile of St. Helena Green Tipped Bourbon is consistently described as unusually delicate, clean, and sweet — characteristics that reflect both the variety's centuries of island adaptation and the specific terroir of the Levelwood region where most coffee is grown, at elevations between 600 and 900 meters under the constant influence of the island's trade wind-driven humidity. Professional cupping notes frequently mention floral notes (jasmine, rose), citrus zest, caramel sweetness, and a distinctive mineral quality attributed to the island's volcanic basalt soil. The body is light to medium — lighter than continental origins at similar elevations — which gives the cup a tea-like delicacy that makes it polarizing: drinkers who expect substance and intensity may find it underwhelming, while those who appreciate subtlety may find it extraordinary.
Practical Recommendations
St. Helena coffee is available through a small number of specialty retailers who work with the island's primary exporter, St. Helena Coffee Company. Production is tiny — the entire island produces only a few tons of green coffee per year — making it one of the rarest commercially available origins globally. If you can access it, treat the tasting as an encounter with coffee history: you're drinking a variety that has been growing on a remote island for nearly 300 years, that Napoleon reportedly praised in letters, and that represents a genetic lineage of Bourbon that no commercial planting program could replicate. Brew at 88 to 90°C in the most neutral possible filter to avoid adding any character that might obscure the delicate, island-specific expression.