Flavor Characteristics of Panama Butterfly Coffee Beans and Brewing Stories

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Panamanian coffee is famous for the Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda, and the region where Hacienda La Esmeralda is located is also quite famous; it is the Boquete region located in the Chiriqui province. Boquete is a town in the Chiriqui province of Panama, situated near the border between Panama and Costa Rica, close to the famous Baru Volcano. With its beautiful scenery, fertile and rich soil, and climate and soil conditions perfect for producing high-quality coffee.

Within the Boquete region, there are also many excellent estates. Besides the famous Hacienda La Esmeralda, estates like Elida Estate and Akaba Estate are also renowned names, all producing high-quality specialty coffee. This not only benefits from the superior ecological conditions of the Boquete region in Panama and the fertile volcanic ash soil of the Baru Volcano area. There is also an important factor: the microclimate present in the highlands of Boquete, Panama, is a unique resource for specialty coffee in the Boquete region; this is due to Panama's east-to-west environment allowing cold air currents to gather above 6,500 feet through the central mountains, thus creating various microclimates in the Boquete area, making its temperature and rainfall very suitable for plant growth. Therefore, coffee trees planted here grow in excellent condition.

In such a privileged growing environment as Boquete, there naturally wouldn't only be one coffee king like Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha, which has extraordinary flavor, quality, and value; but drinking Geisha every day is still quite luxurious, and even if there's no economic pressure, eating something like shark fin and bear paw every day wouldn't be right either. The same goes for coffee - having a wide range of experiences allows one to better enjoy the pleasure of tasting coffee.

Panama is a Central American country, bordered by Costa Rica to the west and Colombia to the east. Those who know something about single-origin coffee should know that Panamanian coffee is famous in the coffee world for the Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda (the famous name for Guisha). It can be said to be a country that pursues excellence in coffee and produces high-quality coffee.

Panama Butterfly Coffee Flavor Profile

Tea aroma, honey, berries, classic Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha taste

Hand Brew Method

Panama Butterfly coffee beans hand brew. 15g of coffee, medium grind (Fuji RY grinder #4), V60 dripper, 88-89°C water temperature. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

The Origins of Panama Butterfly Coffee

Then in the land of Boquete, there is a bean with particularly high cost-performance ratio. And it has a very beautiful name - Butterfly. It has 40% of Geisha's excellent bloodline, composed of three varieties: Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai, grown in the Baru Volcano region of Boquete, at an altitude of 1,600 meters in the volcanic area. The processing plant uses fine washed processing. Panama's special local microclimate leads to abundant rainfall in this region, coupled with large temperature differences between day and night. Combined with the unique volcanic rock soil of the volcanic area, as well as careful harvesting and fine processing, this coffee performs excellently in body, acidity, and floral notes.

What's even more surprising is that on top of its excellent quality, a very approachable price makes this coffee bean's cost-performance ratio explode. The special feature of this coffee bean is that it's composed of three varieties, with 40% being Geisha variety, giving this coffee very obvious Geisha flavor characteristics. According to research, due to historical reasons at the estate, when pursuing yield in the past, early Geisha varieties were mixed and planted together with Caturra and Catuai variety coffee trees. To facilitate harvesting, coffee farmers didn't reclassify them but directly processed the three varieties together. Later, after Geisha became famous overnight and prices soared, the processing plant began to apply fine washed processing to such coffee beans.

Now there are many washed processing methods, but generally, after coffee cherries are harvested, floating beans are removed, then pulp is removed, and the coffee beans are soaked in fermentation tanks. Enzymes in the water soften the mucilage attached to the parchment skin of the coffee beans, and natural yeast breaks down the sugars in the mucilage. This process is called fermentation. After fermentation is complete, the coffee beans are moved to drying grounds to dry. During the drying process, the beans need to be constantly turned to ensure even drying. Finally, they are stored in parchment in warehouses, and after green bean sellers place orders, hulling and bagging are processed. Coffee processed this way has a clean taste, emphasizing bright and lively fruit acidity, as well as clear fruit flavors and floral notes.

So one can imagine, with Butterfly's superiority in varieties plus fine processing methods, if medium-light roasting is used to complete the final flavor direction of this bean. You will surely give great affirmation to this Butterfly, which possesses Geisha's characteristic floral notes, South Asian fruits, berry flavors, and has honey sweetness and smoothness, with very persistent aroma and aftertaste.

Panama Butterfly Coffee Beans Cupping Notes:

Fragrance (Dry Aroma):

Jasmine flowers, citrus, tea aroma, honey

Aroma (Wet Aroma):

Berries, floral notes, buttery aroma, vanilla, citrus

Flavor (Slurp):

Juice sweetness, delicate and non-irritating acidity, excellent cleanliness. Bergamot, honey, citrus, spices, floral notes, berries, tea aroma, cherry, delicate aftertaste, persistent aroma, classic Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha flavor.

Taste Description:

Jasmine floral notes, citrus, tea aroma, honey, berries, vanilla, bright acidity! Butterfly containing Geisha variety is a specialty coffee bean with extremely high cost-performance ratio!

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Coffee Workshop
Address: No. 10 Bao'an Qian Street, FrontStreet Coffee, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou
Manufacturer Contact: 020-38364473
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans
Brand: Coffee Workshop
Series: FrontStreet Coffee Roasting
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Panama
Roast Degree: Medium roast

Regional Details

The Boquete region in Panama is located in the Chiriqui province at the border with Costa Rica, and is the producing area of Panama's famous Geisha coffee, world-renowned for producing high-quality Arabica coffee. The Tedman & MacIntyre Estate, located in the 4,000-foot mountain area of Boquete, originates from two of Panama's earliest coffee families - the Tedman family and the MacIntyre family.

Specifications:

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

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473