How Hartmann Red Wine Processing Coffee Originated and Hartmann Coffee Bean Grading System

Introducing Caturra

Caturra is a single-gene mutation of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. It yields better and resists disease better than Bourbon, and its shorter plants make harvesting easier. Like Bourbon, though, it suffers from biennial production cycles. Even so, its strong adaptability lets it thrive without shade trees, flourishing in direct sunlight—which earned it the name "Sun Coffee." It tolerates high-density planting but needs more fertilizer, which raises costs and initially made growers reluctant to adopt it.

During the coffee price boom of the 1970s, farmers switched to Caturra in large numbers to lift yields. With vigorous promotion from authorities in Brazil and Colombia, the results were abundant. Growers' acceptance of Caturra marked a major shift in cultivation technique. Brazil and Colombia adopted high-yield, high-density sun cultivation; by 1990, one million hectares could harvest 14 million bags of coffee beans, a productivity gain of 60%. It is no wonder that high-yield, high-quality Caturra became a variety producing countries came to rely on.

Caturra suits cultivation from low altitudes of 700 meters up to 1,700 meters, showing wide altitude adaptability. Higher altitudes give better flavor, though yields drop—the destiny of specialty coffee beans. Some scholars call Caturra the intensive, sun-cultivated version of Bourbon, which is remarkably apt. In Central and South America there is also a yellow variant (Caturra Amarello), though its reputation does not match that of Yellow Bourbon.

Lightly roasted, Caturra shows distinct acidity and overall brightness. With proper processing, sweetness can be expressed remarkably well. Its body, however, is relatively low compared with Bourbon, and the cleanliness of the mouthfeel is somewhat lacking.

Caturra usually produces red cherries, but in extremely rare regions a yellow Caturra exists—for example, the very small amount grown in Hawaii.

Coffee Details

Country: Panama
Grade: SHG
Region: Volcán Region
Altitude: 1250-1700 Meters
Processing Method: Wine Processing
Variety: Caturra
Estate: Hartmann Estate
Flavor Notes: Smoked wood spices, berries, fruit wine aroma

Hartmann Estate

The Hartmann story is as legendary as its coffee. Hartmann Estate sits in Santa Clara, Chiriquí Province. Its founder, Mr. Alois St. Hartmann (Luis Hartmann), was born on June 20, 1891, in the Moravia region of Austria-Hungary (now the Czech Republic), and died on May 25, 1970, at the age of 78.

When World War I began he was abandoned as a young boy. Thanks to his mother he managed to hide on a ship bound for Pennsylvania, USA, and survived; both of his brothers enlisted and died in the war. Luis Hartmann traveled with friends through several countries before reaching Panama in 1911, settling in Chiriquí Province in 1912 and becoming active mainly around the Candela area, where he built the first small cabin in the primeval forest.

Today's Hartmann Estate is a family business founded in 1940 by Ratibor Hartmann (Alois's son). In 1966 Ratibor married Dinora Zandi from Costa Rica, and together they had five children: Ratibor Jr., Alan, Alexander, Alice, and Kelly. Every family member takes responsibility for part of the operation—growth management, harvesting and processing, and estate tours. A family estate growing coffee for over 100 years is a legend in itself.

The business has a state-level cupping laboratory and a sample roasting room. They rigorously cup every batch of coffee cherries, keeping quality stable while continuously seeking improvement. Their scientific approach and nearly 100 years of family experience guarantee an excellent product.

Brewing Recommendations

For pour-over Hartmann: use 15 g of coffee, medium grind (Fuji ghost-tooth grinder at setting 4), a V60 dripper, and water at 88-89°C. First pour 30 g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105 g and pause. Wait until the water level drops by half, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225 g, avoiding the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Tasting Notes

This batch is wine-processed Caturra. From the moment it is ground it releases an intense fruit-wine aroma accompanied by fresh smoked-wood spice and the special berry sweetness of natural processing—just smelling it is intoxicating. On the palate, rich tropical fruit emerges: like a cocktail carefully blended from passion fruit, mango, orange, and berry juices with peach wine. No—this is a cocktail from nature itself.

Among all the coffee-producing regions on Earth, very few have successfully experimented with wine-like processing. After years of testing, this method can finally control the acidity structure of a coffee. Coffee fermented this way gains greatly in sweetness, cleanliness, and multi-layered, complex yet elegant acidity, and it significantly improves both the quality and the uniqueness of the cup.

Wine Processing

Wine processing is also called controlled fermentation, or lactic/acetic acid fermentation.

The experimental team is led by American Felipe Sardi and includes biological scientists and ecologists, applying technologies such as solar energy to cultivation and green-bean processing.

Specialized hand-picking crews are trained and strictly follow specialty picking requirements: unripe cherries under 2%, defective beans under 3%, and floaters under 5%.

Acetic acid fermentation—aerobic fermentation

Lactic acid fermentation—anaerobic fermentation

Expected flavor profiles:

Acetic acid fermentation: cleaner, lively acidity, brighter acid quality, citric acid.

Lactic acid fermentation: rounder mouthfeel, slightly less clean than acetic fermentation, higher body, malic/tartaric acid.

In the past, processing mills relied on traditional hand methods passed down for generations—biting a bean to gauge the degree of fermentation. That fermentation was uncontrollable and variable. Controlled fermentation uses pH to monitor the degree of fermentation, achieving predictable results and consistent quality from batch to batch.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If a wine-processed coffee is what won you over, the country that gave the world Caturra is a great place to keep exploring. FrontStreet's Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon is a classic Brazilian single origin: medium roasted, it delivers creamy peanut, toasted bread, caramel, and hazelnut in a round, low-acid cup with just a hint of gentle bitterness, and it works as pour-over, moka pot, espresso SOE, siphon, or French press.

For something sweeter and fruitier, FrontStreet's Brazil Queen Estate is a rare Yellow Bourbon grown in Mogiana on fertile red volcanic soil, with a cleaner fruit character than most Brazilians—sugarcane sweetness alongside fruit and chocolate. Both show why Brazil, with its low acidity and easy balance, has become the backbone of so many espresso recipes and an ideal daily drinker.