Panama Duncan Estate Duncan Boquete Natural Caturra Flavor Profile, Origin, and Brewing Parameters

Origin and Terroir

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Region: Boquete Specialty Region

Altitude: 1250-1700 Meters

Situated in the Baru Volcano region, it boasts a unique microclimate and volcanic terrain with abundant rainfall during the growing season and distinct wet and dry periods. Combined with volcanic lava flows and fertile black volcanic soil with excellent drainage, these provide exceptional growing conditions, producing coffee with particularly captivating aromas. The altitude here exceeds 1700 meters with strong winds, and the estate features numerous giant coniferous trees, all over 200 years old.

Kotowa Estate Philosophy

Kotowa places great importance on ecological environment protection, completely avoiding any chemical fertilizers. Instead, they use cherry peels and pulp to create high-nutrient compost that nourishes the coffee trees and gives back to the land. Not only was Kotowa Coffee nominated by Panama's environmental agency as the recipient of the Panama National Environmental Protection Award in 2006, but this approach also creates the unique flavor profile of Dunken Estate coffee, resulting in exceptionally high-quality coffee beans that consistently achieve top rankings in the BOP (Best of Panama).

Flavor Profile

Flavor Notes: Fruit wine, fermented fruit aroma, honey citrus, malt sweetness, sweet peach, distinct layers, delicate texture, candied fruit

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee
Address: No. 10, Bao'an Front Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, FrontStreet Coffee
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Panama

Panama Dunken Estate Details

Country: Panama

Grade: SHG (Strictly High Grown)

Processing Method: Natural Process

Variety: Caturra

Estate: Dunken Estate

Flavor Notes: Fruit wine, fermented fruit aroma, honey citrus

Caturra Variety Characteristics

Caturra is a single-gene mutation of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. It shows better productivity and disease resistance than Bourbon, with shorter plants that facilitate harvesting. However, like Bourbon, it suffers from biennial production cycles. Its strong adaptability allows it to thrive without shade trees directly under intense sun, earning it the name "Sun Coffee." It can adapt to high-density planting but requires more fertilization, increasing costs, so farmers were initially slow to accept it.

However, when coffee prices soared in the 1970s, farmers increasingly switched to Caturra to increase yields. With strong promotion by Brazilian and Colombian authorities, the results were remarkable. Farmers' acceptance of Caturra signified a major transformation in cultivation techniques. Brazil and Colombia adopted high-yield, high-density sun-exposed planting. By 1990, one million hectares could harvest 14 million bags of coffee beans, increasing productivity by 60%. No wonder the high-productivity, high-quality Caturra has become a variety relied upon by coffee-producing countries worldwide.

Caturra is suitable for cultivation from low altitudes of 700 meters to high altitudes of 1700 meters, showing strong altitude adaptability. The higher the altitude, the better the flavor, though productivity decreases relatively - this is the fate of specialty coffee. Some academics describe Caturra as the intensive, sun-exposed version of Bourbon, which hits the mark perfectly. There is also a yellow Caturra variant (Caturra Amarello) in Central and South America, but its reputation doesn't match that of Yellow Bourbon.

When lightly roasted, Caturra shows distinct acidic aromas and overall brightness. With proper processing, its sweetness can be expressed exceptionally well, though the coffee body is relatively lower compared to Bourbon, and the cleanliness of the mouthfeel is somewhat lacking.

Typically, Caturra produces red cherries, but in very rare regions, yellow Caturra exists. For example, Hawaii grows very small amounts of yellow Caturra.

Brewing Recommendations

Hand-pour Dunken: 15g of coffee, medium grind (using Fuji's ghost-tooth grinder #4), V60 dripper, water temperature 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water, bloom for 27 seconds, then pour to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to halfway, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g. Avoid the final tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio of 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Roast Level: Medium roast

Dunken Estate Harvesting Methods

Dunken Estate produces unique 'Premium Picking' and 'Reserva Picking' methods, which push coffee to extremely high quality and flavor levels, though greatly reducing production volume. KOTOWA's implementation of 'Premium Picking' focuses on harvesting coffee cherries only when they show wine-red color (overripe dark color), followed by "immediate" and "rapid" post-harvest processing! The cost of achieving this flavor is extremely high. Another method, 'Reserva Picking,' is also called fully-ripe picking (Quickly Processed).

'Reserva Picking' doesn't rely solely on color as the harvesting standard - it must assess sweetness and the quality of fruit pulp sweetness! Not only must cherries be 100% fully red, but they must also be 100% converted to fruit sweetness before harvesting, picked only when they taste velvety sweet!

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473