Panama Iletta Coffee Bean Characteristics and Panama Iletta Estate Coffee Brewing Methods

For professional barista communication, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

Caturra: A Bourbon Natural Variation

Caturra is a natural variation of the Arabica Bourbon variety, discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its plant is shorter and more compact compared to Bourbon. While inheriting Bourbon's lineage, it has relatively weak disease resistance but higher yields than Bourbon. Although discovered in Brazil, Caturra is not well-suited for growing there and therefore was not cultivated on a large scale in Brazil. Instead, it became widely popular in Central and South American regions, with countries like Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua extensively cultivating Caturra.

Compared to these botanical characteristics, you might be more concerned about Caturra's flavor profile. The higher the elevation where Caturra is grown, the better the quality, but correspondingly, the lower the yield. When lightly roasted, Caturra exhibits prominent acidic aromas and overall brightness. With proper processing, its sweetness can perform exceptionally well, though its coffee body is relatively lower compared to Bourbon, and the cleanliness of the mouthfeel is somewhat lacking.

Typically, Caturra produces red cherries, but in extremely rare regions, there are also yellow Caturra varieties. For example, Hawaii cultivates very small quantities of yellow Caturra.

Coffee Bean Grading Systems

Currently, coffee grading systems worldwide are not unified. Each coffee-producing country has its own grading system and grading names. Therefore, you might see the following terms on coffee labels: "SHB," "AA+," "Supremo," "Extra-Fancy," "Peaberry / Small beans," etc. These are coffee bean grading names. Commercially sold roasted coffee beans sometimes indicate the grading of single-origin coffee. The more detailed the coffee grading indication, typically the better the coffee quality. However, most general coffees do not display this information.

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)
Address: No. 10, Bao'an Qianjie Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou
Manufacturer Contact: 020-38364473
Ingredients: In-house roasted
Shelf Life: 30 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk
Flavor Profile: Neutral
Coffee Bean State: Roasted beans
Contains Sugar: Sugar-free
Origin: Panama
Coffee Type: Other

Panama MC Santa Clara Eleta SHB Washed

Country: Panama
Grade: SHB
Region: Santa Clara
Elevation: Average 1,600 meters
Processing Method: Washed

Brewing Instructions

Pour-over Panama Eleta. Use 15g of coffee, medium grind (grinded with Fujiyama 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 stop. Wait until the water level drops to half in the coffee bed before continuing to pour. Slowly pour until reaching 225g total water, avoiding the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Eleta Estate

Eleta Estate (Café de Eleta) is located in a small area of the Santa Clara region, just one kilometer from the Costa Rican border, near La Amistad International Park, a major primary forest reserve that belongs to the Central American ecological habitat. Eleta Estate began acquiring land in the 1970s, covering approximately 130 hectares. Initially, it operated vegetable cultivation and livestock farming. Coffee cultivation only began in 1995, named Café de Eleta S.A., and continued to expand land area. Today, it encompasses 420 hectares, making it one of Panama's large-scale coffee plantations and one of the best-known Panama coffees. Due to abundant water resources, it has a private hydroelectric power plant of 530KW. Besides being self-sufficient in electricity, surplus power is sold to Distribución de Electricidad Chiriquí S.A. and connected to the grid.

Variety: Caturra
Estate: Eleta Estate
Flavor Notes: Creamy bread, almond kernel sweetness, rounded acidity

Panama Coffee: Rising Star in Central America

Panama coffee has been the hottest country in Central America for the past 5-6 years. The main reason is the Geisha coffee variety cultivated at Hacienda La Esmeralda, operated by the Peterson family, which has driven coffee enthusiasts crazy. Consequently, Geisha has been promoted as the world's top-tier coffee bean. For this reason, the Panama Cup of Excellence competition auction is independent of the Central American cupping competitions and was the earliest auction country, held annually in mid-May. Panama coffee is impressive not only in the Geisha variety but also in continuous updates to green bean processing methods. Not only are there traditional washed processing methods, but also honey processing methods popular in neighboring Costa Rica. Additionally, Central America's gradually emerging natural process coffee beans are also produced in small quantities in Panama, attracting global coffee professionals' attention.

History and Regions of Panama Coffee

Coffee was introduced to Panama in 1780 when Europeans brought the first Typica coffee trees. This mysterious and exotic beverage conquered the senses of Panamanians, and locals began widespread cultivation. Panama coffee is very smooth, with full, lightweight beans and perfectly balanced acidity. Its high-quality coffee beans feature pure, distinctive flavors. Due to widespread popularity, most of Panama's premium coffee beans are exported to France and Finland.

Main coffee-producing regions in Panama include:

Boquete Region: This area produces coffee in large quantities with excellent quality, making it Panama's most productive and high-quality coffee region.

Volcán Region: Coffee produced in this area features mild, balanced flavors and is gradually gaining attention from international experts and coffee enthusiasts. It is believed that it will soon rival the Boquete region.

Santa Clara Region: Fertile coffee farms are irrigated and nourished by clear river water from the Chorerra waterfall, coupled with proximity to the Panama Canal, allowing fresh, pure Panama coffee to be conveniently transported worldwide.

Piedra de Candela Region: Considered to have the greatest potential for large-scale development of high-quality specialty coffee.

Flavor Profile

This batch of coffee possesses the most pure, original flavors. Because Eleta Estate SHB washed coffee is harvested from high-altitude Catuai coffee beans, it carries intense fruity and floral aromas. Flavor characteristics: creamy bread, almond kernel sweetness, sugarcane sweetness, rounded acidity, complex aroma, balanced sweet and sour, pleasant mouthfeel.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473