Panama Coffee Beans: Characteristics and Stories | Pour Over Brewing Parameters

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The Excellence of Panamanian Coffee

When it comes to Panamanian coffee beans, the famous Geisha variety must be mentioned. Geisha coffee offers a clean cup with a lively, fruity aftertaste and rich fruit aromas. When FrontStreet Coffee selects premium Panamanian coffee beans, they consider multiple factors including terrain, altitude, and processing methods. FrontStreet Coffee also believes that Panamanian coffee beans offer excellent value, which is why they have introduced many varieties of Panamanian coffee. Here's a brief introduction.

Origins and Growing Regions

Panamanian coffee originated in 1780 when European immigrants introduced the first Typica coffee trees. Located in Central America, Panama enjoys natural conditions including sunshine, fertile land, and high mountains, along with abundant labor. FrontStreet Coffee believes it's no coincidence that this region has become an excellent area for high-quality specialty coffee production.

FrontStreet Coffee understands that Panama's specialty coffee is mainly produced in two regions: Boquete and Volcán. Coffee from these regions emits delicate, enchanting floral perfume-like aromas, reminiscent of fruit flavors, with a lingering coffee fragrance that characterizes this coffee. FrontStreet Coffee offers several coffee beans from the Boquete region, such as the Flor de Mariposa coffee bean and Elida Typica. The Boquete region is located near the border between Panama and Costa Rica, close to the famous Barú Volcano, with fertile, rich soil and climate conditions ideal for producing premium coffee.

Additionally, the Boquete region hosts many famous estates, such as Hacienda La Esmeralda, Elida Estate, and Kotowa Duncan Estate. The most notable is Hacienda La Esmeralda, and FrontStreet Coffee highly recognizes the quality of their coffee beans.

Hacienda La Esmeralda and Geisha Classification

Hacienda La Esmeralda primarily cultivates the Geisha variety. Initially, Geisha was not valued at the Jaramillo estate, where it was merely used as windbreak trees, resulting in very limited production. Later, Jaramillo estate was acquired by Hacienda La Esmeralda. FrontStreet Coffee believes this may be related to the superior flavor profile of coffee grown in the Jaramillo region. FrontStreet Coffee considers Hacienda La Esmeralda's continuous acquisition of other estates to be a very wise decision, and this is one of the important reasons why they occupy a significant position in the coffee industry.

It wasn't until after Hacienda La Esmeralda's acquisition that the unique flavor of the Geisha variety was discovered. FrontStreet Coffee thinks that perhaps because Geisha was grown in relatively harsh environments, coincidentally resulted in its excellent flavor profile.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that obtaining high-quality coffee beans is not easy and requires considerable effort in cultivation. Take Hacienda La Esmeralda, for example; they have put tremendous effort into Geisha classification. They classify planting lots according to altitude and have created several Geisha grades including Red Label, Green Label, and Blue Label.

Many people may not understand the concepts of Red Label, Green Label, and Blue Label, so FrontStreet Coffee will provide an explanation. High-quality Geisha comes from three estates: Jaramillo, Cañas Verdes, and El Velo. Hacienda La Esmeralda divides their products into five major brands based on cupping scores, varieties, and planting lots. For the Geisha variety, there are three brands: Esmeralda Special, Private Reserve, and Geisha 1500.

Red Label: Esmeralda Special

Red Label represents Geisha specially selected by Hacienda La Esmeralda. Grown at altitudes between 1600-1800 meters, with cupping scores above 90 points. Produced in Jaramillo and Cañas Verdes. Red Label beans selected for auction are called Auction Red Label, while those not selected for auction are simply called Red Label. In fact, both non-auction and auction Red Label beans come from the same lots, so FrontStreet Coffee believes both are excellent choices. If you're just starting to explore Geisha, you can begin with Red Label Geisha. This grade of Geisha uses both natural and washed processing methods, with very distinctive, bright flavors featuring floral and citrus aromas.

Green Label: Private Reserve

Green Label, commonly known as Private Reserve, consists of Geisha varieties grown for non-auction but with excellent quality. It's a blend of micro-lots from different areas.

Among FrontStreet Coffee's customers, the difference between Red Label and Green Label is often discussed. FrontStreet Coffee believes that while Red Label can be traced to specific lots, Green Label cannot be traced to specific areas. However, this doesn't affect Green Label's flavor. In fact, FrontStreet Coffee thinks it's like buying a lottery ticket - you might purchase Green Label but end up drinking a batch from Red Label lots, which is a very interesting phenomenon. Although Green Label is not as high-grade as Red Label, it still maintains the classic Geisha flavors: floral, fruity, and citrus acidity.

Blue Label: Geisha 1500

The Geisha 1500 brand is what we commonly know as Blue Label Geisha. It's a blend from three different lots, selected from altitudes of 1400-1500 meters. The difference between Blue Label and the other two is that Blue Label Geisha typically only uses washed processing, with flavors featuring subtle floral notes and fruit acidity. FrontStreet Coffee's store not only offers washed Blue Label Geisha but also natural-processed Blue Label Geisha coffee beans.

Processing Methods and Techniques

This batch of washed Red Label Geisha sourced by FrontStreet Coffee comes from Hacienda La Esmeralda's Jaramillo lot. Hacienda La Esmeralda places harvested coffee cherries into a filtration tank, screening out floating debris, then drains the water and pushes the selected coffee cherries into a funnel for the next processing step.

The washed Green Label Geisha beans are relatively hard. Because new season beans have better water activity, FrontStreet Coffee chooses high-temperature, rapid dehydration methods during roasting, using a faster roasting rhythm to express the Green Label Geisha's multi-layered fruit flavors and rich floral aromas.

In previous years, Blue Label Geisha was only available in washed processing, but this year natural-processed Blue Label Geisha has been added, and FrontStreet Coffee has also introduced a natural-processed Blue Label Geisha. FrontStreet Coffee will briefly introduce the natural Blue Label Geisha.

Generally, Hacienda La Esmeralda's natural processing involves sending harvested coffee fruits directly to patios for drying. The coffee fruits slowly dry while the beans inside are infused with fruit and aromatic notes. When they reach sufficient dryness, they are placed in a Guardiola dryer for 72 hours of rotation to complete the drying process and prevent fermentation. After drying is complete, they are stored in nylon bags in warehouses. Of course, Hacienda La Esmeralda's natural processing also faces challenges - during the drying process, any carelessness can cause the parchment beans to reabsorb moisture, compromising quality.

Notable Panamanian Coffee Varieties

In addition to Geisha varieties, FrontStreet Coffee also offers Flor de Mariposa coffee beans from the Boquete region. Flor de Mariposa has 70% Geisha heritage and is composed of three varieties: Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai. It's grown near the Barú Volcano in Boquete and processed using the washed method. FrontStreet Coffee believes this coffee bean performs exceptionally well in body, acidity, and floral notes. All three varieties in Flor de Mariposa come from the same origin and region, making it a single-origin coffee. Caturra is a Bourbon variety, while Catuai is a hybrid of Arabica, being a cross between Mundo Novo and Caturra.

In the Panama region, FrontStreet Coffee also sources premium Panamanian coffee beans from the Volcán region. FrontStreet Coffee also offers a Geisha variety called Jenson, known as the "Champagne of Coffee." However, this variety is less well-known domestically because it comes from the Volcán region, and FrontStreet Coffee understands this is because Jenson Estate primarily focuses on domestic sales rather than export. Despite this Jenson coffee being lesser-known, FrontStreet Coffee still chose to carry it, partly to introduce excellent coffee from remote mountain areas to customers.

Coffee bean flavors don't change completely based on human-defined boundaries. FrontStreet Coffee believes that coffee flavors from both Boquete and Volcán regions share similarities in their fruity and floral characteristics.

According to FrontStreet Coffee's research, in earlier times, the Volcán region primarily grew fruits, vegetables, and other cash crops, with only a few farmers cultivating Panamanian coffee. The first to grow coffee were the Hartmann family and the Jenson family. The Hartmann family's Hartmann Estate is also quite well-known, and FrontStreet Coffee also offers a coffee from Hartmann Estate using a special wine processing method (also known as carbon dioxide processing). This method primarily controls pH, temperature, and humidity, with inspiration drawn from red wine brewing techniques.

FrontStreet Coffee's Curated Selection

Regular customers of FrontStreet Coffee know that the coffee beans they carry are not static. FrontStreet Coffee provides specialty coffee, emphasizing not only raw materials but also roast degree. FrontStreet Coffee regularly samples coffee beans from different regions, only considering introducing them when they confirm each bean represents the characteristic flavors of its region.

1. FrontStreet Coffee Panama Flor de Mariposa Coffee Beans

Coffee Region: Panama, Boquete
Altitude: 1600 meters
Variety: Geisha, Caturra, Catuai
Processing Method: Washed processing
Flavor: Citrus, floral, tea-like, honey, high sweetness

2. FrontStreet Coffee Panama Natural Blue Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Growing Origin: Panama, Boquete
Coffee Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda
Coffee Grade: Blue Label
Altitude: 1500 meters
Variety: Geisha
Processing Method: Natural processing
Flavor: Peach, floral, cantaloupe, strawberry

3. FrontStreet Coffee Hacienda La Esmeralda Red Label Geisha Coffee Beans

Region: Boquete
Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda
Altitude: 1700 meters
Processing Method: Natural processing
Variety: Geisha
Flavor: Lemon, honey, berries, orange peel, cream, citrus

4. FrontStreet Coffee Panama Elida Estate Coffee Beans

Region: Panama Boquete region
Estate: Elida Estate
Altitude: 1850 meters
Variety: Catuai
Processing Method: Natural
Flavor: Fermented fruit acidity and jasmine floral notes, with peach and orange acidity on entry, noticeable cane sugar sweetness, overall refreshing and sweet profile

5. FrontStreet Coffee Panama Hartmann Coffee Beans

Region: Volcán region
Altitude: 1250-1700 meters
Processing Method: Wine processing method
Variety: Catuai
Estate: Hartmann Estate
Flavor: Rich wine aroma, high sweetness, lively and bright acidity, with more prominent brown sugar flavors when cooled

6. FrontStreet Coffee Panama Jenson Geisha Coffee Beans

Region: Volcán region
Processing Method: Natural
Annual Rainfall: 3000mm
Soil: Volcanic soil
Flavor: Delicate berry notes, clean mouthfeel, honey, lychee flavors

FrontStreet Coffee Panama Geisha Pour-Over Parameters

Recommended Brewing Method: Pour-over
Dripper: Hario V60
Water Temperature: 90-92°C
Grind Size: Medium-fine (80% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve)
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Brewing Technique

Step-by-step extraction: 30g water for 30-second bloom, then pour with small water flow to 130g for the first stage. When the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g to finish. When the water level is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the filter cup. (Timing starts from the bloom) Total extraction time is approximately 1 minute 50 seconds.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473