Panama Butterfly Flavor Profile: Which Panama Coffee Brand is Best

The Washed Process

Washed processing has many variations today, but in general the cherries are harvested, floaters removed, then the pulp is taken off and the beans are soaked in fermentation tanks. Enzymes in the water soften the mucilage attached to the parchment, while natural yeasts break down the sugars in the mucilage—that is fermentation. Once it is complete, the beans move to drying patios and are sun-dried, turned constantly for evenness. Finally they are stored in parchment in warehouses, with hulling and bagging done only after green-bean buyers place their orders. Coffee processed this way tastes clean, emphasizing bright, lively fruit acidity along with refreshing fruit and floral notes.

The Flower Butterfly Bean

With superior variety characteristics combined with meticulous processing, a medium-light roast completes the profile of this bean. You will surely give this Flower Butterfly high marks: it carries Geisha's characteristic florals, Southeast Asian fruit, and berry flavors, along with honey sweetness and smoothness, and a remarkably persistent aroma and aftertaste.

Cupping Notes

Fragrance (dry aroma): jasmine, citrus, tea aroma, honey

Aroma (wet aroma): berries, florals, buttery aroma, vanilla, citrus

Flavor (slurp): juice sweetness, fine and non-stimulating acidity, excellent cleanliness, bergamot, honey, citrus, spices, florals, berries, tea aroma, cherry, a delicate aftertaste and persistent aroma—the classic Esmeralda Estate Geisha flavor.

Taste description: jasmine florals, citrus, tea aroma, honey, berries, vanilla, bright acidity. The Flower Butterfly, with its Geisha variety, is a specialty coffee of extremely high value.

Brewing Method

Hand-brewed Flower Butterfly: 15 g of grounds, medium grind (Fuji Royal grinder at setting 4), a V60 dripper, water at 88-89°C. First infusion of 30 g water, bloom 27 seconds, then pour to 105 g and pause. Wait until the water level drops to half, then continue slow pouring until reaching 225 g. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

The Panama Boquete Region

The Boquete region in Panama, in Chiriquí province bordering Costa Rica, is famous for producing Geisha coffee and is world-renowned for high-quality Arabica. The Tedman & MacIntyre Estate, in the 4,000-foot mountain area of Boquete, traces its roots to two of Panama's earliest coffee families, the Tedman family and the MacIntyre family.

Coffee Specifications

Country: Panama
Grade: SHB
Region: Boquete
Roast Level: Medium roast
Processing: Washed
Varieties: Caturra, Catuai, Geisha

Panama coffee is famous for the Geisha from Esmeralda Estate, and the region where that estate sits is equally well known—the Boquete area of Chiriquí province. Boquete is a town near the Panama-Costa Rica border, close to the famous Baru Volcano, with beautiful scenery, fertile soil, and a climate and soil very well suited to high-quality coffee.

Within Boquete there are many excellent estates. Besides the famous Esmeralda Estate, there are Elida Estate and Akabá Estate, all renowned for high-quality specialty coffee. This is partly thanks to Boquete's superior ecology and the fertile volcanic ash soil of the Baru volcano area, and partly to an important factor: the microclimate of Panama's Boquete highlands. Panama's east-to-west orientation lets cold air currents converge through the Central Mountains above 6,500 feet, creating varied microclimates in the Boquete area and making its temperature and rainfall very suitable for plant growth. Coffee trees here thrive.

Panama is a Central American country bordering Costa Rica to the west and Colombia to the east. Anyone who follows single-origin coffee knows Panama for the Geisha from Esmeralda Estate—the name that made Geisha famous. It is a country that pursues excellence in coffee.

Flavor: tea aroma, honey, berries, the classic Esmeralda Estate Geisha taste.

Within Boquete there is a bean of particularly high value with a beautiful name: Flower Butterfly. It carries 40% of Geisha's excellent bloodline and is composed of three varieties—Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai—grown in the Baru volcano area of Boquete at an altitude of 1,600 meters. The processing plant gives it a meticulous washed process. Panama's special local microclimate brings abundant rainfall and large day-night temperature differences, and together with the area's unique volcanic rock soil and careful harvesting and processing, the coffee performs exceptionally well in body, acidity, and floral notes.

What is even more surprising is that on top of that quality, its very affordable price makes the value exceptional. The bean's particular feature is that it is a blend of three varieties with 40% Geisha, giving it very obvious Geisha flavors. According to research, for historical reasons—the estate chasing yield at the time—early Geisha varieties were mixed and planted together with Caturra and Catuai trees. To make harvesting easier, the farmers did not reclassify them and instead processed all three varieties together. Later, as Geisha became famous overnight and prices soared, the processing plant began applying a meticulous washed process specifically to these beans.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the idea of a Geisha at a fair price is what drew you in, FrontStreet's Strawberry Candy is the house's answer—a blend that pairs a Costa Rican honey-processed coffee with Panama Geisha, so you get fine florals and sweet fruit flavor at once. It is a great value entry into that elegant Geisha profile without paying single-estate prices, and it works just as well as pour-over, moka pot, or espresso.

If you would rather taste Geisha on its own, start with FrontStreet's Boquete Geisha. This entry-level Panama Geisha delivers the classic orange-blossom honey character with an oolong-tea texture and delicate fruit acidity at an accessible price—the perfect way to find out what all the fuss is about before stepping up to a named estate lot.