Hartmann Red Wine Process Coffee Region Introduction How to Brew Hartmann Coffee

Introduction

This batch is a red-wine-process Caturra. From the very first grind it gives off an intensely rich fruit-wine aroma, accompanied by fresh smoked-wood spice notes and the special berry sweetness that sun-drying brings—the fragrance alone is intoxicating. On tasting, it opens into rich tropical fruit, like a cocktail blended from passion fruit, mango, orange, and berry juices with peach wine. No—this is a cocktail made by nature itself.

The Red Wine Process

Of all the coffee-producing regions on Earth, very few have successfully tested wine-style processing. After years of experimentation, the method can now genuinely control the acidity structure of the coffee. Fermenting coffee this way greatly enhances sweetness, cleanliness, and a layered, complex yet elegant acidity—a fermentation approach that has significantly raised both the quality and the distinctiveness of the output.

The red wine process is also called controlled fermentation, or lactic/acetic acid fermentation.

The experimental team is led by the American Felipe Sardi and composed of biologists and ecologists who apply technologies such as solar power to cultivation and green-bean processing.

The specialized hand-picking crews are trained to follow strict specialty-coffee harvesting requirements: unripe fruit under 2%, defective beans under 3%, floaters under 5%.

Fermentation Methods

Acetic acid fermentation—an aerobic fermentation

Lactic acid fermentation—an anaerobic fermentation

Flavor Expectations

Acetic Acid Fermentation

Cleaner, lively acidity, brighter quality, citric-acid character.

Lactic Acid Fermentation

A more rounded mouthfeel, slightly lower cleanliness than the acetic style, higher body, malic/tartaric-acid character.

In the past, mills relied on traditional manual techniques handed down through generations—biting a bean to judge fermentation degree among them. That kind of fermentation was uncontrollable and varied. Controlled fermentation instead monitors the process through pH values, achieving predictable results and consistent batch production.

The Caturra Variety

Caturra is a single-gene mutation of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. It out-produces Bourbon with better disease resistance, and its shorter plants make harvesting easier. Like Bourbon, it unfortunately suffers from biennial production cycles. It is highly adaptable, needs no shade, and thrives in intense direct sunlight—hence the name "Sun Coffee." It tolerates high-density planting but requires more fertilizer, which raises costs, so farmers were slow to adopt it at first.

That changed when coffee prices skyrocketed in the 1970s and farmers switched to Caturra to lift yields. With strong promotion from the Brazilian and Colombian authorities, the results were abundant. Acceptance of Caturra marked a major transformation in cultivation technique: Brazil and Colombia adopted high-yield, high-density sun planting. By 1990, one million hectares were harvesting 14 million bags of coffee—a 60% increase in productivity. Little wonder that this high-yielding, high-quality variety became the mainstay of producing countries everywhere.

Caturra is suitable for cultivation from 700 meters up to 1,700 meters, adapting readily across that range. The higher the altitude, the better the flavor—and the lower the yield: the destiny of every specialty bean. Some academics call Caturra the intensively cultivated, sun-grown version of Bourbon, which is apt. Central and South America also grow a yellow-fruited variant (Caturra Amarello), though its reputation trails Yellow Bourbon's.

Lightly roasted, Caturra shows an obvious acidic aroma and overall brightness. With proper processing, its sweetness can be excellent, though the body runs lower than Bourbon's and the cup is not quite as clean.

Caturra usually bears red cherries, but yellow Caturra survives in a few extremely rare areas—Hawaii, for example, cultivates only very small quantities.

Coffee Details

Country: Panama

Grade: SHG

Region: Volcán

Altitude: 1,250-1,700 meters

Processing Method: Red wine process

Variety: Caturra

Estate: Hartmann Estate

Flavor: Smoked wood spices, berries, fruit-wine aroma

Hartmann Estate Introduction

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

After World War I broke out, he was abandoned as a small boy. Thanks to his mother, he survived by hiding aboard a ship bound for Pennsylvania in the United States. His two brothers both enlisted and died in the war. Luis traveled through several countries with friends until he reached Panama in 1911 and settled in Chiriquí Province in 1912, living mainly around the Candelaria area, where he built the first small cabin in that pristine forest.

Today's Hartmann Estate is a family business founded in 1940 by Ratibor Hartmann, Alois's son. In 1966, Ratibor married Dinorah Zúñiga from Costa Rica, and they had five children: Ratibor Jr., Alan, Alexander, Alice, and Kelly. Each family member takes on different responsibilities for cultivation management, harvesting and processing, and estate tours. A family estate that has grown coffee for over 100 years is itself a legendary story.

This family business also runs a state-certified cupping laboratory and sample roasting room, where every batch of coffee is rigorously cupped. That rigor ensures the stable quality of Hartmann Estate coffee and the family's continuous pursuit of improvement—nearly 100 years of experience behind a scientific approach to coffee.

Brewing Recommendations

Hand-pour for Hartmann: 15 g of coffee at a medium grind (setting 4 on a small Fuji ghost-tooth grinder), brewed on a V60 with water at 88-89°C. Start with 30 g of water and let it bloom for 27 seconds, then pour to 105 g and stop. Once the water level in the bed drops to half, continue pouring slowly up to 225 g, avoiding the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, total extraction 2:00.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

FrontStreet Coffee carries five espresso blends in different styles, all shipped within five days of roasting so the flavor arrives intact. If red-wine-process Hartmann is your taste in single origins but you want something for milk drinks and espresso, the blends are worth a close look.

The FrontStreet Signature Blend pairs washed Colombian with pulped-natural Brazilian beans: nuts, dark chocolate, and caramel with a comfortable sweet-bitter edge. It pours smoothly with milk for a latte, holds latte-art patterns well, and even produces attractive layering in a Dirty with a deep-brown crema. The FrontStreet Commercial Blend uses the same Colombian-Brazilian base plus a touch of Robusta, adding notes of toasted bread, almond, and walnut, with flowing golden crema and a low-acid, full-bodied cup—an excellent choice for cafés. The barista-favorite Black Cocoa Blend combines washed Yunnan with Brazilian pulped natural: a nutty, ripe-plum acidity with cream-chocolate and cocoa-cookie aromas, balanced flavor, and a golden sheen of crema—suited to shops, bakeries, drink stands, and home machines alike.

• FrontStreet Signature Blend: washed Colombia + pulped-natural Brazil; nuts, dark chocolate, caramel—silky lattes, stable latte art, great Dirty.
• FrontStreet Commercial Blend: Colombia + Brazil + a little Robusta; toasted bread, almond, walnut, rich crema, low-acid and full-bodied—the best-value café option.
• FrontStreet Black Cocoa Blend: washed Yunnan + pulped-natural Brazil; ripe-plum acidity, cream chocolate, cocoa cookie, golden crema.