Flavor Profile and Aromatic Characteristics of Panama Finca Candela Honey Process Catuai SHB Specialty Coffee Beans

Cupping Notes: dried-fruit aroma, rich fruit acidity, distinct sweetness on entry, lemon, orange, cranberry, and green-tea notes, an even, smooth texture, gentleness with subtle florals, and a long-lasting sweet aftertaste.

Panama Jurutungo Honey Catuai

Country: Panama
Grade: SHB
Region: Volcán area
Roast Degree: Medium roast
Processing Method: Honey process
Variety: Catuai
Processing Mill: La Berlina Estate
Flavor Notes: lemon, orange, cranberry, green tea

Panama Coffee Overview

Premium Panama coffee is grown in the west of the country, near Costa Rica and close to the Pacific coast. Coffee from the Boquet district of Chiriqui province is the most renowned, with other famous regions including Volcán, Santa Clara, and Candela; other notable areas include the David, Remacimeinto, Bugaba, and Tole districts. Only coffee grown at altitudes between 1,300 and 1,500 meters qualifies as specialty coffee.

Catuai Variety

"Catuai" is a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra, making it a second-generation cross that inherits Caturra's advantage of short plant stature. The name comes from an indigenous language meaning "very good." As a member of the Arabica family, Catuai is relatively high-yielding.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Panama's coffee heartland lies in the western highlands - Boquet, Volcan, Santa Clara, and Candela - all within Chiriqui province at the center of the coffee belt, blessed with fertile volcanic soil and old-growth forest. In Boquet, cloud-shrouded mountains bring humid days and cool nights, and coffee planted at higher elevations ripens more slowly and absorbs more nutrients, developing richer, more distinctive flavors. For a first taste of Panamanian coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's baristas recommend the FrontStreet Boquet Washed Geisha, an estate-level entry Geisha grown at 1,600 meters, whose volcanic-ash-fed trees yield jasmine florals, green tea, honey, citrus, and orange.

If you love Geisha's floral elegance, the FrontStreet Panama Flower Butterfly carries half Geisha heritage - a cross of Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai grown in the Baru Volcano area, where abundant rain, a wide day-night temperature swing, and volcanic rock soil give it excellent body, citrus acidity, and jasmine aroma, delicious as pour-over or cold brew. And for the pinnacle, the FrontStreet Emerald Estate Red Label Geisha is harvested from a single plot above 1,700 meters and must cup at 91 points or higher, offering refined orange-blossom honey sweetness.