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Taste and Flavor Profile of Panama Duncan Estate | Panama Duncan Estate Coffee Characteristics

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional barista exchange. Please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). Caturra is suitable for cultivation from low altitudes of 700 meters to high altitudes of 1700 meters, with strong altitude adaptability. The higher the altitude, the better the flavor, but the yield is relatively reduced—this is the destiny of specialty beans. Some in the academic community describe Caturra as an intensive and sun-exposed version of Bourbon, which is truly insightful. There are also variants in Central and South America.

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Caturra Variety

Caturra is suitable for cultivation from 700 meters at low altitude to 1700 meters at high altitude. It has strong altitude adaptability - the higher the altitude, the better the flavor, but the yield decreases accordingly, which is the destiny of specialty coffee beans. Some in academia describe Caturra as the intensive, sun-exposed version of Bourbon, which is quite insightful. In Central and South America, there is also a yellow variant (Caturra Amarello), but its reputation is not as good as that of Yellow Bourbon.

When Caturra is lightly roasted, the acidic aroma is prominent and the overall character is bright. With proper processing, the sweetness can be expressed exceptionally well. However, the coffee body is relatively lower compared to Bourbon, and the cleanliness of the mouthfeel is somewhat lacking.

Typically, Caturra has red cherries, but in extremely rare areas, there are yellow Caturra varieties. For example, Hawaii grows very limited quantities of yellow Caturra.

Hand Brew Parameters

For hand-brewed Duncan: 15g of coffee, medium grind (small Fuji ghost tooth blade grind 4), V60 dripper, water temperature 88-89°C. 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 halfway before continuing to pour. Slowly pour until reaching 225g total water. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Roast level: Medium roast

Picking Methods

The "Duncan" estate produces unique "Premium Picking" and "Reserva Picking" methods. This approach pushes coffee to extremely high quality and flavor breakthroughs, but coffee production decreases significantly. KOTOWA's implementation of "Premium Picking" focuses on harvesting coffee cherries only when they show wine-red color (overripe dark color), and immediately conducting rapid post-harvest processing! The cost of achieving this flavor is extremely high. Another method is "Reserva Picking," also known as fully-ripe picking (Quickly Processed).

"Reserva Picking" does not rely solely on color as the harvesting standard - it must judge the sweetness and the quality of pulp sweetness! In addition to being 100% fully red, it must also be 100% fruit-sweet before picking, and only when it tastes velvety sweet is it harvested!

Origin Information

Region: Boquete Specialty Region

Altitude: 1250-1700 Meters

Located in the Baru volcano region, it enjoys a unique microclimate and volcanic terrain. The growing season has abundant rainfall with distinct wet and dry seasons. Combined with volcanic lava flows, fertile volcanic black soil, and good drainage provide unique growing conditions, making the coffee aroma particularly captivating. The altitude here exceeds 1700 meters, with strong winds, and many giant coniferous trees in the estate are over 200 years old.

Kotowa also places great importance on ecological environment protection, completely avoiding any chemical fertilizers. They use cherry skins and pulp to create high-nutrient compost to nourish coffee trees and give back to the land. Not only was Kotowa Coffee nominated by Panama's environmental agency in 2006 as winner of the Panama National Environmental Protection Award, but this has also created the unique flavor of Duncan Estate coffee, making the produced coffee beans of excellent quality and consistently achieving top rankings in BOP.

Flavor Profile

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

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Address: No. 10 Bao'an Qianjie, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Shelf life: 90 days Net weight: 227g Packaging: Bulk coffee beans Raw/roasted degree: Roasted coffee beans Contains sugar: Sugar-free Origin: Panama

Coffee Details

Panama Duncan

Country: Panama

Grade: SHG

Processing method: Natural processing

Variety: Caturra

Estate: Duncan Estate

Flavor: Fruit wine, fermented fruit aroma, honey citrus

Caturra Background

Caturra is a single-gene variant of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. Both yield and disease resistance are better than Bourbon, and the plant is shorter, making harvesting convenient. Unfortunately, like Bourbon, it has the problem of biennial yield cycles. However, its adaptability is strong - it doesn't need shade trees and can thrive directly under intense sun, called Sun Coffee. It can adapt to high-density cultivation but requires more fertilization, increasing costs, so initial acceptance by coffee farmers was not high.

But in the 1970s, when coffee prices rose sharply, farmers switched to Caturra to increase yields. With strong promotion by Brazilian and Colombian authorities, results were fruitful. Farmers' acceptance of Caturra meant a major transformation in cultivation techniques. Brazil and Colombia adopted high-yield, high-density sun-exposed cultivation. By 1990, one million hectares could harvest 14 million bags of coffee beans, increasing production by 60%. No wonder high-yield, high-quality Caturra has become a variety that various producing countries now rely on heavily.