Panama Boquete 70% Geisha Butterfly Mariposa Premium Coffee Bean Varieties, Brand Recommendations and Estates

The Boquete region of Panama, in Chiriqui province on the border with Costa Rica, is the renowned home of Panama's famous Geisha coffee and is world-famous for producing high-quality Arabica. The Tedman & MacIntyre Estate, set in the mountains of Boquete at 4,000 feet, comes from two of Panama's earliest coffee families: the Tedman family and the MacIntyre family.

Hand Brew Preparation

Flower Butterfly hand brew: 15g of coffee, medium grind (setting 4 on a Fujiyama ghost-tooth grinder), V60 dripper, water temperature 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 27 seconds. Pour to 105g and stop, wait until the water level drops halfway, then pour slowly until you reach 225g. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Coffee Information

• Country: Panama
• Grade: SHB
• Region: Boquete
• Roast Level: Medium roast
• Processing Method: Washed
• Varieties: Caturra, Catuai, Geisha

Panama coffee is famous for the Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda, and the region where this estate sits is nearly as well known: the Boquete producing area in Chiriqui province. Boquete is a town in Chiriqui near the border between Panama and Costa Rica, close to the famous Baru Volcano. With its beautiful scenery and fertile, rich soil, the climate and soil here are perfect for producing high-quality coffee.

Boquete holds many excellent estates. Besides the famous Hacienda La Esmeralda, there are renowned names such as Elida Estate and Kotowa Estate, all producing premium specialty coffee. This is due not only to the superior ecology of the Boquete region and the fertile volcanic ash soil around the Baru volcano, but also — importantly — to the microclimate of the Boquete highlands, a unique resource for specialty coffee here. Panama's east-to-west orientation allows cold air currents to converge above 6,500 feet through the central mountains, creating a range of microclimates across the Boquete area. That makes temperature and rainfall ideal for plant growth, so coffee trees here thrive exceptionally well.

In a growing environment as privileged as Boquete, it stands to reason that La Esmeralda's Geisha is not the only coffee king, whether you judge by flavor or by price. Still, drinking Geisha every day would be extravagant, and even without any financial pressure, eating delicacies like shark fin and bear paw every day would not be right either. The same goes for coffee — a wide range of experiences lets you enjoy tasting it all the more.

Panama is a Central American country, bordering Costa Rica to the west and Colombia to the east. Anyone familiar with single-origin coffee knows that Panama is famous in the coffee world for the Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda. It is a country that pursues excellence in coffee and produces high-quality beans.

Flavor Profile

Flavor: tea aroma, honey, berries, and the classic Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha taste.

In the land of Boquete there is a coffee bean with exceptionally high value for money, and it has a very beautiful name — Flower Butterfly. It carries 40% premium Geisha heritage, made up of three varieties: Geisha, Caturra and Catuai. It is grown in the Baru Volcano area of Boquete, at an altitude of 1,600 meters in volcanic terrain, and the processing plant gives it a fine washed treatment. Panama's special local microclimate brings abundant rainfall to the region along with wide day-night temperature swings. Combined with the unique volcanic rock soil, careful harvesting and fine processing, this coffee performs excellently in body, acidity and floral notes.

Even more surprising, on top of its excellent quality, an approachable price makes this bean's value outstanding. Its particular feature is that it is composed of three varieties, with 40% Geisha, giving the coffee very obvious Geisha characteristics. According to available information, the estate's history explains it: in the early days, when yield was the priority, the early Geisha variety was mixed and planted together with Caturra and Catuai trees. To make harvesting easier, the farmers did not reclassify them, instead processing all three varieties together. Later, after Geisha became famous overnight and prices soared, the processing plant began to apply fine washed processing to these beans.

There are many washed processing methods today, but in general the cherries are harvested, floating beans are removed, the pulp is stripped away, and the beans are soaked in fermentation tanks. Enzymes in the water soften the mucilage still attached to the inner skin, while natural yeast breaks down the sugars in the mucilage — this is fermentation. Once fermentation is complete, the beans are moved to drying patios to sun-dry. During drying they must be turned constantly for even results. Finally they are stored in parchment in warehouses, and only after green bean merchants place orders are they hulled and bagged. Coffee processed this way tastes clean and emphasizes bright, lively fruit acidity, clear fruit flavors and floral notes.

You can imagine, then, that with Flower Butterfly's varietal advantage and fine processing, a medium-light roast to finish off the flavor direction will earn real recognition for this bean — Geisha's characteristic florals, South Asian fruits and berry flavors, with honey-like sweetness and smoothness and a very persistent aroma and finish.

Cupping Notes

• Fragrance (Dry Aroma): Jasmine flower, citrus, tea aroma, honey
• Aroma (Wet Aroma): Berries, floral notes, buttery aroma, vanilla, citrus
• Flavor (Sipping): Juice sweetness, delicate and non-aggressive acidity, excellent cleanliness. Bergamot, honey, citrus, spices, floral notes, berries, tea aroma, cherry, a delicate aftertaste, persistent aroma, the classic Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha flavor.

Taste Description: Jasmine flower, citrus, tea aroma, honey, berries, vanilla, bright acidity. This Flower Butterfly, with its Geisha content, is a specialty coffee bean with an extremely high value for money.

Product Information: Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee | Shelf Life: 90 days | Net Weight: 227g | Packaging: Bulk coffee beans | Coffee Bean State: Roasted coffee beans | Brand: FrontStreet Coffee | Series: FrontStreet Coffee Roasting | Sugar Content: Sugar-free | Origin: Panama | Roast Level: Medium roast

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Flower Butterfly is the classic "Geisha on a budget" — Boquete terroir and a generous share of Geisha genetics without the La Esmeralda price tag. The most direct FrontStreet equivalent is the FrontStreet Boquete Geisha, the entry point to Panamanian Geisha: it delivers the signature orange-blossom honey sweetness and oolong-tea body of a high-quality Boquete Geisha, with delicate fruit acidity and clearly defined layers.

Because this bean is a blend of Geisha with Caturra and Catuai, it also rewards a lighter touch, just as the washed Boquete lots above do. If you want to explore further up the ladder, the FrontStreet Esmeralda Red Label Geisha ("Esmeralda Special") is grown between 1,600 and 1,800 meters, cupped above 90 points, and drawn from a single plot, giving you the same floral, honeyed core at the top of the price range.