What Does Panama Illeta Taste Like? How to Brew Panama Coffee

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Panamanian coffee has been the most popular country in Central America for the past 5-6 years. The main reason is that a coffee variety called Geisha, grown at Hacienda La Esmeralda operated by the Peterson family, has driven coffee enthusiasts crazy. As a result, Geisha is acclaimed as the world's finest coffee bean. For this reason, the Panama Cup of Excellence auction is separate from the Central and South America cupping competitions, and it was also the earliest auction country, held annually in mid-May. Panamanian coffee is not only impressive in the Geisha variety but also continuously innovates in mid-stage green bean processing. It features not only traditional washed processing but also the honey processing method popular in neighboring Costa Rica. Additionally, naturally processed beans, which are gradually taking shape in Central America, are also produced in small quantities in Panama, attracting attention from coffee professionals worldwide.

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

Main Coffee Growing Regions in Panama

Boquete Region: This area produces coffee in large quantities with excellent quality, making it the region with the highest production and finest quality Panamanian coffee.

Volcán Region: Coffee produced here is characterized by mild, balanced flavors and has gradually attracted the attention of international experts and coffee enthusiasts. It is believed that it will soon rival the Boquete region.

Santa Clara Region: Fertile coffee plantations are irrigated and nourished by the clear river water from the Chorerra Falls, and with its proximity to the Panama Canal, fresh, pure Panamanian coffee can be conveniently transported to various parts of the world.

Piedra de Candela Region: This region is considered to have the greatest potential for developing high-quality specialty coffee.

This batch of coffee has the purest original flavor. Because the SHB washed coffee from Ileta Estate is harvested from high-altitude Catuai coffee beans, it carries strong fruity and floral notes. Flavor characteristics: creamy bread, apricot kernel sweetness, cane sugar sweetness, rounded acidity, complex aroma, balanced sweet and sour, pleasant mouthfeel.

Caturra is a natural mutation of the Arabica Bourbon variety, discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its plant is shorter and more compact than Bourbon. Although it inherits Bourbon's lineage, making it relatively weak in disease resistance, its yield is higher than Bourbon. Despite being discovered in Brazil, Caturra is not well-suited for growth there, so it wasn't cultivated on a large scale in Brazil. Instead, it became widely popular in Central and South American countries, such as Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, where it is grown extensively.

Compared to these botanical characteristics, you might be more concerned about Caturra's flavor. The higher the altitude 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, the sweetness can be expressed exceptionally well, but the body is relatively lower compared to Bourbon, and the cleanliness of the mouthfeel is somewhat lacking.

Typically, Caturra produces red cherries, but in very few regions, yellow Caturra can be found, such as the small amount of yellow Caturra grown in Hawaii.

Currently, the grading systems for coffee beans worldwide are not unified. Each coffee-producing country has its own grading system and grading names. Therefore, you might see text such as "SHB," "AA+," "Supremo," "Extra-Fancy," "Peaberries/small beans," etc., on coffee packaging. These are coffee bean grading names. Sometimes, roasted coffee beans sold on the market may indicate the grade of single-origin coffee. The more detailed the coffee grading information, usually the better the quality of the coffee. However, general coffee typically does not display this information.

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)
Address: No. 10 Bao'an Qianjie Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou
Manufacturer Contact: 020-38364473
Ingredients: Self-roasted
Shelf Life: 30 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk
Taste: 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

Altitude: Average 1,600 meters

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: Caturra

Estate: Ileta Estate

Flavor: Creamy bread, apricot kernel sweetness, rounded acidity

Hand-brewed Panama Ileta. 15g of coffee, medium grind (Fujimax burr grinder #4), V60 dripper, water temperature 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water, bloom for 27 seconds. Pour to 105g and stop. Wait until the water level drops to half, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15. Extraction time 2:00.

Ileta 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 is part of the Central American ecological habitat. Ileta Estate began acquiring land in the 1970s, covering an area of about 130 hectares. Initially, it was engaged in vegetable cultivation and livestock operations. Coffee planting began in 1995, named Café de Eleta S.A., and continued to expand land area. Today, it covers 420 hectares, making it one of Panama's large-scale coffee plantations and one of Panama's best-known premium coffees. Due to abundant water resources, it has a private 530KW hydroelectric power plant. Besides being self-sufficient in electricity, excess power is sold to Distribución de Electricidad Chiriquí S.A. and connected to the grid.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473