Panama Ileta Flavor Profile Panama Coffee Types and Prices

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Understanding Coffee Bean Grading Systems

Currently, the coffee bean grading systems worldwide are not unified. Each coffee-producing country has its own grading system and grading names. Therefore, you might see the following text on coffee packaging: "SHB," "AA+," "Supremo," "Extra-Fancy," "Peaberry," etc. These are all coffee bean grading names. Sometimes, roasted coffee beans sold on the market will indicate the grading of single-origin coffee. The more detailed the coffee grading information, usually the better the coffee quality. However, most general coffees do not indicate this information.

FrontStreet Coffee Product Information

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee
Address: No. 10, Bao'an Front 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
Sugar Content: 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

Brewing Instructions

Hand-poured Panama Ileta. Use 15g of coffee, medium grind (Fujiyama ghost tooth grinder #4), V60 dripper, water temperature 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 27 seconds. Continue pouring to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level drops to half before continuing to pour. Slowly pour until reaching 225g total. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

The Ileta Estate Story

Café de Eleta is located in a small area of the Santa Clara region, just one kilometer from the Costa Rica border, near La Amistad International Park, a major primary forest reserve that belongs to the Central American ecological habitat. The Ileta Estate began acquiring land in the 1970s, covering an area of about 130 hectares. Initially, it focused on vegetable cultivation and livestock operations. In 1995, it started growing coffee and was named Café de Eleta S.A. The estate continued to expand its land area until today, now covering 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 530KW hydropower plant. Besides being self-sufficient in electricity, excess power is sold to Distribución de Electricidad Chiriquí S.A. and connected to the grid.

Variety: Caturra

Estate: Ileta Estate

Flavor: Creamy bread, apricot kernel sweetness, well-rounded acidity

The Rise of Panama Coffee

Panama coffee has been the hottest country in Central America for the past 5-6 years. The main reason is that Hacienda La Esmeralda, operated by the Peterson family, cultivated a Geisha coffee variety that drove coffee enthusiasts crazy. As a result, Geisha was promoted as the world's top coffee bean. For this reason, the Panama Coffee Excellence Competition auction is independent of the Central and South America Cupping Competition and was the earliest auction country, held annually in mid-May. Panama coffee is impressive not only in the Geisha variety but also continuously innovates in mid-stage green bean processing. It not only has traditional washed processing but also the honey processing method popular in neighboring Costa Rica. Additionally, the gradually emerging natural processed beans in Central America are also produced in small quantities in Panama, attracting global coffee professionals' attention.

Coffee in Panama

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

Panama's Main Coffee Growing Regions

Boquete Region: This area produces abundant and high-quality coffee, making it the region with the highest production and best quality in Panama.

Volcan Region: Coffee produced here features mild and balanced flavors, gradually gaining attention from international connoisseurs and coffee enthusiasts. It is believed that it will soon match the Boquete region in reputation.

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

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

Flavor Profile and Growing Conditions

This batch of coffee offers the most pure original flavor. Because the Ileta Estate SHB washed coffee 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, well-rounded acidity, complex aroma, balanced sweet and sour, pleasant mouthfeel.

About Caturra Variety

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

Compared to these botanical characteristics, people are probably more concerned with 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 shows distinct acidic aromas and overall brightness. With proper processing, sweetness can be expressed very well, but the coffee body is relatively low compared to Bourbon, and the cleanliness of the mouthfeel is somewhat lacking.

Usually, Caturra produces red cherries, but in very rare regions, there are yellow Caturra varieties. For example, Hawaii grows very small quantities of yellow Caturra.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473