Flavor Characteristics of Panama Butterfly Coffee Beans and Brewing Stories

Panamanian coffee is famous for the Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda, and the region where Hacienda La Esmeralda sits is famous in its own right: Boquete, in the Chiriqui province. Boquete is a town in Chiriqui near the border between Panama and Costa Rica, close to the well-known Baru Volcano. It offers beautiful scenery, fertile and rich soil, and climate and soil conditions that are perfect for producing high-quality coffee.

Within the Boquete region there are many excellent estates. Besides the famous Hacienda La Esmeralda, estates such as Elida Estate and Akaba Estate are also renowned names, all producing high-quality specialty coffee. This owes not only to Boquete's superior ecological conditions and the fertile volcanic ash soil of the Baru Volcano area, but also to an important factor: the microclimate present in the highlands of Boquete is a unique resource for the region's specialty coffee. Panama's east-to-west orientation lets cold air currents gather above 6,500 feet through the central mountains, creating a range of microclimates in the Boquete area whose temperature and rainfall are very suitable for plant growth. The coffee trees planted here therefore grow in excellent condition.

In such a privileged growing environment, it makes sense that there would be more than one coffee king like Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha, with its extraordinary flavor, quality, and value. Yet drinking Geisha every day is still quite luxurious, and even without economic pressure, eating something like shark fin and bear paw every day would not be right either. The same goes for coffee: a wide range of experiences lets one better enjoy the pleasure of tasting it.

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 will know that Panamanian coffee is famous in the coffee world for the Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda. 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

In the Boquete land there is a bean with a particularly high cost-performance ratio, and it has a very beautiful name: Butterfly. It carries 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 brings abundant rainfall to the region, along with large day-to-night temperature differences. Combined with the unique volcanic rock soil of the volcanic area, careful harvesting, and fine processing, this coffee performs excellently in body, acidity, and floral notes.

What is even more surprising is that, on top of its excellent quality, a very approachable price makes this coffee bean's value explode. The special feature of Butterfly is that it is composed of three varieties, with 40% Geisha, giving the coffee very obvious Geisha flavor characteristics. According to research, due to historical reasons at the estate, when yield was the priority in the past, early Geisha varieties were mixed and planted together with Caturra and Catuai trees. To make harvesting easier, the coffee farmers did not reclassify them and instead 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.

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

So one can imagine that, with Butterfly's advantage in varieties plus fine processing, a medium-light roast is the right way 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, and berry flavors, with honey sweetness and smoothness and 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 the Geisha variety, is a specialty coffee bean with an extremely high cost-performance ratio.

Product Information:

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

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Butterfly is a clever way to meet Geisha's floral and honeyed character at a friendly price, made from Geisha blended with Caturra and Catuai and given a medium-light roast. If you want the pure expression of that same Boquete terroir, FrontStreet Coffee's Esmeralda Red Label Geisha is grown at 1,600-1,800 meters, cupped above 90 points, and drawn from a single plot for full traceability. The Esmeralda Green Label, or Private Collection, blends several plots to capture the estate's signature high-altitude Geisha character at a more accessible price. The FrontStreet Boquete Geisha is the ideal entry point, showing the classic orange-honey charm along with oolong-tea smoothness, delicate fruit acidity, and clearly defined layers. Those who want to trace Geisha back to Ethiopia can choose the FrontStreet Genlana Geisha, grown from a single variety on a 700-hectare site established in 2014, where 14-20 days of raised-bed drying yield bright citrus acidity, elegant ginger-lily aroma, and ripe-fruit sweetness. And for an everyday alternative, the FrontStreet Strawberry Candy blend combines Costa Rican honey processing with Panamanian Geisha for raisin, rose, sweet orange, and a whisper of fruit wine.