Introduction to Panama Boquete Coffee Growing Region - What Makes Panama Geisha Coffee Special?

When it comes to Geisha, FrontStreet Coffee believes that coffee enthusiasts are no strangers to it. The unique flavor of Geisha has captivated coffee lovers worldwide, and this is no exaggeration. Coffee enthusiasts who have tasted Geisha coffee at FrontStreet Coffee all praise its exceptionally bright and fresh flavor, with aromas of flowers and citrus—it's truly wonderful! So in this article, FrontStreet Coffee will discuss Panama's Geisha coffee!

Panama Coffee Growing Conditions

Panama is located on the Panamanian Isthmus in Central America, connecting to Colombia in the east, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the south, connecting to Costa Rica to the west, and facing the Caribbean Sea to the north. The country's S-shaped territory connects North and South America, with the Panama Canal running from north to south, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, earning it the nickname "World's Bridge."

According to FrontStreet Coffee's research, Panama has varied terrain with numerous valleys and ravines. Except for the coastal plains in the north and south, most of the country consists of mountains. Due to its proximity to the equator, it has a typical tropical marine climate with humid days and cool nights, and abundant rainfall, making it particularly suitable for growing high-quality coffee. FrontStreet Coffee believes that coffee from Panama has very pure and distinctive flavor and texture, with balanced acidity, somewhat resembling the character of Blue Mountain coffee.

Panama Coffee Development History

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Panama's coffee history dates back to 1780, when a retired British naval colonel planted the first Typica trees in the Boquete Valley of Panama. Later, colonists introduced coffee cultivation to the western mountains.

Of course, during colonial rule, coffee cultivation naturally didn't focus on quality but rather on mass production. Therefore, Panama's coffee was inferior to neighboring Costa Rica for a long time, with production only one-tenth that of Costa Rica.

It wasn't until 1989, when seven famous Panamanian coffee estates founded the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama (SCAP), that attention began to be paid to specialty coffee cultivation. In 1996, Panama held green coffee competitions and auctions, aiming to organize small-scale coffee growers nationwide to jointly promote Panama's own coffee brand and foster healthy competition. According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Panama's advanced scientific coffee management in the industry is due to the late 20th century when the United States helped build the Panama Canal, bringing in many American elites. Most of their descendants inherited American university education backgrounds, thus possessing considerable knowledge reserves.

In fact, Panama coffee truly became famous because Geisha variety coffee beans from Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda won the BOP championship in 2003. Since then, the international community has gone crazy for Geisha, calling it the champagne of the coffee world. Among these, the highest bid for washed Geisha in the BOP washed category exceeded $160 per pound, while the highest bid for natural Geisha was won by a natural Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda at over $350 per pound.

Panama Coffee Growing Regions

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, Panama has exceptionally favorable geographical conditions for coffee production. Under the influence of these geographical factors, Panama has complex and varied microclimates, creating uniquely flavored Panamanian coffee beans. Panama's main coffee production regions are roughly divided into four areas: Boquete, Volcan, Santa Clara, and Piedra de Candela. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will briefly introduce the characteristics of these four regions.

Boquete: Elevation 1450 meters. This region is the area with the highest coffee production and best quality in Panama. Examples include Hacienda La Esmeralda, Kotowa Estate, Elida Estate, etc.

Volcan: Elevation 2000-3000 meters. This region's coffee is characterized by mild and balanced flavors, gradually gaining attention from international experts and coffee lovers. The famous Baru Volcano coffee comes from this region.

Santa Clara: Elevation 1500 meters. This region benefits from irrigation by the Chorerra waterfall, and its proximity to the Panama Canal allows convenient transportation of all Panamanian coffee to various parts of the world.

Piedra de Candela: Elevation 1200 meters. This region is a micro-region within the Volcan region, named after Baru Volcano and the city of Piedra de Candela. This region is considered the most promising area with potential for developing high-quality premium coffee.

Panama Coffee Bean Grading System

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Panama's coffee bean grading system is based on altitude and is divided into the following categories:

1. Strictly Hard Bean (SHB) - Above 4500 feet
2. Hard Bean (HB) - 4000-4500 feet
3. Semi-Hard Bean (SH) - 3500-4000 feet
4. Extra Prime Washed (EPW) - 3000-3500 feet
5. Prime Washed (PW) - 2500-3000 feet
6. Extra Good Washed (EGW) - 2000-2500 feet
7. Good Washed (GW) - Below 2000 feet

Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce all the current Panama coffee beans from FrontStreet Coffee.

First, let's talk about Geisha coffee beans from Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda. FrontStreet Coffee believes that experienced coffee enthusiasts are no strangers to Hacienda La Esmeralda—it's the champion-winning estate mentioned above in the BOP. Hacienda La Esmeralda was purchased in 1964 by American banker Rudolph Peterson after he retired and moved to Panama. Initially, it focused on dairy farming. Later, his son Price resigned from his medical position to help his father run the farm. In 1987, they introduced Caturra and Catuai coffee varieties, and in 1994, they established a washed processing plant, giving them their own coffee processing facility.

Currently, Hacienda La Esmeralda mainly has three estates growing Geisha varieties: Jaramillo, Canas Verdes, and El Velo.

FrontStreet Coffee learned during research that Jaramillo was acquired by Hacienda La Esmeralda in 1996. This estate has superior geographical conditions and excellent original coffee varieties. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee believes that precisely because Hacienda La Esmeralda made the unique decision at the time to acquire estates with good quality and high altitude, it was able to occupy a certain position in the coffee industry later. Among these, Jaramillo was one of the early estates planting Geisha varieties. Due to its low yield, the previous owner only used it as a windbreak tree until it was acquired and its extraordinary flavor was discovered. So FrontStreet Coffee feels this is exactly what makes Geisha fascinating—the better the flavor performance when grown in harsher environments.

In other words, because Hacienda La Esmeralda discovered coffee beans with flavor expression, for precision, they cupped coffee beans from different areas within the estate separately, determining planting blocks based on altitude. This is why we now have the Geisha grades of Red Label, Green Label, and Blue Label, all graded by altitude. FrontStreet Coffee will explain this content in detail below.

Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee believes that the biggest difference in Hacienda La Esmeralda's marketing strategy compared to other estates is that they divide their products into five major brands based on cupping performance, planted varieties, and planting blocks. For Geisha varieties, there are three brands: Esmeralda Special, Private Collection, and Geisha 1500. For Catuai varieties, there are two brands: Diamond Mountain and Pamiri.

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, although Geisha variety coffee beans are widely grown in Panama, their quality is not consistently good, which is also why they are expensive. Geisha was discovered because of its strong resistance to leaf rust (the "terminal illness" of coffee), but its yield is low and it's too delicate, so only estates with good conditions can produce high-quality Geisha coffee beans, and Hacienda La Esmeralda is one of them.

FrontStreet Coffee: Hacienda La Esmeralda Red Label Geisha Coffee Beans
Country: Panama
Region: Boquete (Hacienda La Esmeralda)
Elevation: 1700 m
Variety: Geisha
Processing: Natural
Flavor: Rose, honeysuckle, sweet potato, grapefruit, lemon, black tea, brown sugar

The Esmeralda Special Geisha is what FrontStreet Coffee calls the Red Label. These coffee beans are selected from elevations of 1600-1800 meters with cupping scores above 90 points.

The independent auction held by Hacienda La Esmeralda itself selects Geisha batches from designated plots for auction—these are the auction Red Labels. Customers often ask FrontStreet Coffee whether auction Red Labels taste better than regular Red Labels. Actually, non-auction Red Labels and auction Red Labels come from the same plots—the difference is whether they participated in the auction. FrontStreet Coffee believes you don't necessarily need to drink auction-level coffee—first, the price is indeed high, and second, if you just want to try it, the Red Label is also a good choice. This grade of Geisha often uses natural or washed processing, with special, bright floral and citrus aromas.

FrontStreet Coffee: Hacienda La Esmeralda Green Label Geisha Coffee Beans
Country: Panama
Region: Boquete (Hacienda La Esmeralda)
Elevation: 1700 m
Variety: Geisha
Processing: Natural
Flavor: Rose, honeysuckle, sweet potato, grapefruit, lemon, black tea, brown sugar

Private Collection, commonly known as Green Label, was originally a non-auction but high-quality Geisha batch. Green Label is harvested from mixed Geisha beans from different plots within the two main estates at elevations of 1600-1800 meters. With its classic orange and honey notes, it has become the priority choice for many "budget-conscious" Geisha fans. Starting from 2022, Hacienda La Esmeralda began to indicate which sub-estate this grade of Geisha comes from.

People often ask about the difference between Red Label and Green Label. FrontStreet Coffee gives the most straightforward answer: Red Label can be traced back to which specific plot, while Green Label is a blend that cannot be traced. Because it uses a blending model without detailed plot specifications, sometimes the flavor similarity between Green Label and Red Label can be very high, but the next batch might have differences. FrontStreet Coffee feels that drinking Green Label is like the mood of buying a lottery ticket—perhaps this batch you taste has the flavor of Red Label.

Although Green Label is not as high-grade as Red Label, it still carries the classic flavors of Geisha—floral, fruit, citrus acidity, and thick, juicy texture. Green Label Geisha also has both washed and natural processing.

The above explains the distinction between Red Label Geisha and Green Label Geisha, so what about Blue Label Geisha?

Actually, the Geisha 1500 brand is what FrontStreet Coffee often calls Blue Label Geisha. Selected from elevations of 1400-1500 meters, it's a blend from three different plots: Jaramillo, Canas Verdes, and El Velo. The flavor has subtle floral notes, fruit acidity, and sweetness, with a less thick texture. Blue Label Geisha only comes in washed processing. In previous years, Blue Label Geisha only had washed processing, but the 2020 harvest season's Blue Label batch added natural processing.

FrontStreet Coffee: Hacienda La Esmeralda Washed Blue Label Geisha Coffee Beans
Country: Panama
Region: Boquete (Hacienda La Esmeralda)
Elevation: 1400-1500 m
Variety: Geisha
Processing: Washed
Flavor: Citrus, lemon, honey, nuts, tea-like notes

FrontStreet Coffee: Hacienda La Esmeralda Natural Blue Label Geisha Coffee Beans
Country: Panama
Region: Boquete (Hacienda La Esmeralda)
Elevation: 1400-1500 m
Variety: Geisha
Processing: Natural
Flavor: Lemon, honey, melon, berries, fermented notes

So what's the difference between washed Blue Label Geisha and natural Blue Label Geisha?

Actually, different processing methods do affect coffee bean flavor. FrontStreet Coffee believes that washed processing adds a fermentation process compared to natural processing. Because coffee beans are cleaned after fermentation, making the surface cleaner. After drying this way, the coffee beans have a refreshing texture and increased acidity. Natural processing, because it retains some pulp for drying, gives the coffee beans more berry flavors, with a thicker and fuller texture. In washed processing, before drying, the sticky mucilage is removed from the coffee beans, ensuring they don't over-ferment or produce more mold during drying. The cost of washed processing is higher than natural processing, so it's not suitable for water-scarce countries.

Washed Processing Process:

1. Harvest mature coffee cherries
2. Initial removal of impurities and defective beans
3. Floating bean selection: Pour coffee cherries into a water tank—mature, full cherries will sink to the bottom, while immature or defective cherries will float.
4. Remove skin and pulp: Selected good coffee cherries are put into a pulping machine to remove outer skin and pulp, leaving seeds (coffee beans).
5. Fermentation to remove mucilage: Coffee seeds with a layer of mucilage are placed in fermentation tanks, using biological methods where fermentation bacteria dissolve the mucilage.
6. Water washing to remove impurities: Since fermentation bacteria remain on the coffee beans, the beans need to be sent to washing pools for cleaning and a second selection (defective beans will float). This step requires large amounts of clean water.
7. Coffee bean drying: Usually machines or sun-drying are used to dry coffee cherries to reduce moisture content to 10-14%.
8. Remove parchment and silver skin: Finally, use a hulling machine to remove remaining parchment and silver skin to complete processing, then package and ship the green beans.

Natural Processing Process:

1. Harvest mature coffee cherries
2. Initial removal of impurities and defective beans
3. Floating bean selection: Pour coffee cherries into a water tank—mature, full cherries will sink to the bottom, while immature or defective cherries will float.
4. Natural drying: Mature coffee cherries that sank to the bottom are scooped out and spread on drying patios for natural drying, reducing moisture from 70% to about 10-12%. They need to be turned several times daily for even drying and covered at night to avoid moisture.
5. Remove outer shell: After about two to four weeks of drying, the outer layer of coffee seeds has hardened, then a hulling machine is used to remove the outer shell to complete processing.
6. Packaging and shipping: After hulling, coffee beans are packaged in bags—what we generally call green beans. Finally, through different roasting and brewing changes, coffee can present millions of flavor variations.

The differences between the two are:

1. Under the same processing, natural beans will have obvious red wine dry aromas, while washed beans have citrus and honey fruit aromas.
2. Both will have obvious fruit acidity, similar to lemon and citrus fruits, but natural beans are richer with a hint of red wine fermentation flavor.
3. Washed processing acidity will be brighter, like citric acid, with a fresher taste and more obvious citrus aroma; natural processing will be richer, with slightly more coffee bitterness, and much richer texture.

The above covers all of FrontStreet Coffee's Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha coffee beans. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce some beans from other well-known Panamanian estates to coffee enthusiasts.

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Janson Estate Geisha Coffee Beans
Country: Panama
Region: Volcan (Janson Estate)
Elevation: 1750 m
Variety: Geisha
Processing: Natural
Flavor: Maple sugar, lemon citrus, apple, rose, dark chocolate, fruity, multi-layered sweet and sour

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Janson Geisha is less heard of domestically because Janson Estate mainly focuses on domestic sales rather than exports. And in this high-altitude, nutrient-rich volcanic soil with abundant rainfall and suitable temperatures, Janson Estate has gradually become the second-largest Geisha producer among Panamanian estates. The estate has 50% of its area planted with Geisha variety coffee trees. This estate not only has a dedicated processing plant for its coffee cherries but also puts great effort into roasting to improve cupping result reference value. Because of these efforts, Janson Estate's coffee bean quality continues to improve, and its achievements allowed Janson Estate Geisha to win second place in the 2013 (BOP) competition.

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Elida Estate Coffee Beans
Country: Panama
Region: Boquete (Elida Estate)
Elevation: 1850m
Variety: Typica
Processing: Natural
Flavor: Raisins, peaches, oranges, melons, brown sugar, caramel, green tea notes

FrontStreet Coffee chose Elida Estate's coffee beans for coffee enthusiasts to taste because it has won Best of Panama awards for five consecutive years, with impressive achievements second only to Hacienda La Esmeralda. According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Elida Estate is the most famous estate of the Lamastus family, founded in 1918. From when Robert Lamastus, the founder of the Lamastus family coffee estate, planted the first coffee tree, it has now gone through a century and witnessed the global spread of specialty coffee.

Elida Estate's total area is 65 hectares, with more than half located within Baru Volcano National Park. Only 30 hectares of the estate are used for growing coffee trees, while the rest remains primary forest. Coffee is grown at elevations from 1670 to 1850 meters. In such high-altitude environments, low temperatures delay the maturation period of coffee cherries by about a month compared to normal maturity periods. The fertile volcanic soil provides sufficient nutrients for coffee, and the excellent microclimate brought by Baru Volcano allows Elida Estate to repeatedly achieve excellent results in cupping competitions.

This Elida Estate coffee bean is different from the Geisha variety coffee mentioned above by FrontStreet Coffee—it's Typica variety coffee. So what is Typica? Typica coffee beans originated in Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan and are one of the ancient coffee varieties among many Arabica species. All Arabica varieties are derived from Typica coffee beans. The beans are oval or slender with pointed tips. The top leaves are bronze-colored, called red-topped coffee, also known as old-variety small-bean coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Hartmann Estate Coffee Beans
Country: Panama
Region: Volcan
Elevation: 1250-1700m
Variety: Catuai
Processing: Wine processing
Flavor: Tropical fruits, nuts, red wine, honey, brown sugar

Speaking of Hartmann Estate, it's actually one of Panama's old-established coffee estates. The estate was founded by Alois Strasil Hartmann, who came to Panama's Boquete region around 1918 to start his cultivation business. Later, it was founded in 1940 by his son Ratibor Hartmann. Today, Hartmann Estate has developed into a family enterprise, with each family member taking on responsibilities for coffee growth management, harvesting and processing, and estate tours.

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, this family enterprise has a state-level cupping laboratory and sample roasting room. They cup each batch of coffee cherries rigorously. This ensures consistent coffee quality at Hartmann Estate and always seeks improvement. Their scientific approach to coffee and nearly 100 years of family experience have allowed them to maintain excellent coffee bean quality.

At the same time, Hartmann Estate has very wide coffee varieties: Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon, Pacamara, Maragogipe, and Geisha. FrontStreet Coffee's selection is Catuai variety coffee beans from Hartmann Estate. So what is Catuai variety?

Speaking of Catuai, FrontStreet Coffee must first mention Caturra. Caturra is a natural variant of the Arabica variety Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its trees are not as tall as Bourbon, being more compact. Because it inherited Bourbon's bloodline, its disease resistance is relatively weak, but its yield is higher than Bourbon. Although discovered in Brazil, Caturra is not suitable for growing in Brazil and therefore wasn't widely cultivated there. Instead, it became popular in Central and South America, with large-scale cultivation in countries like Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua.

Catuai is a man-made hybrid of Caturra and Mundo Novo. Catuai has better resistance to natural disasters, especially wind and rain. Catuai trees are relatively low-growing. Compared to other coffee trees, Catuai fruits grow more compactly and are not easy to harvest. The fruits come in both red and yellow varieties. According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, so far, no difference in taste has been found between yellow and red fruits.

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Butterfly Coffee Beans
Country: Panama
Region: Boquete
Elevation: 1600 m
Variety: Catuai, Caturra, Geisha
Processing: Washed
Flavor: Citrus, floral, tea-like notes, honey

Just from the name Butterfly, you can feel the aroma of this coffee. This coffee bean, like Hacienda La Esmeralda and Elida Estate, comes from Boquete, Panama. Its value for money is exceptionally high.

FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Butterfly was originally named Cupid, not the current Butterfly. Initially, it only contained 30% Geisha. After two years of sales, it was adjusted to contain 50% Geisha, and later adjusted again to the current 70%. It consists of three varieties: Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai, grown in the Baru Volcano area of Boquete. Growing in the volcanic area at 1600 meters elevation, the processing plant uses fine washed processing. Panama's special microclimate leads to abundant rainfall in this region and large day-night temperature differences. Combined with the unique volcanic rock soil of the volcanic area, as well as meticulous harvesting and fine processing, this coffee performs excellently in body, acidity, and floral notes.

What's even more surprising, in FrontStreet Coffee's opinion, is that on top of its excellent quality, its affordable price makes this coffee bean's value for money explosive. And what's special about this coffee bean is that it contains the Geisha variety, giving this coffee very obvious Geisha flavors. Because Butterfly contains three varieties of coffee beans—Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai—coffee enthusiasts who come to FrontStreet Coffee will ask if it's a blend. Actually, it's not.

According to research by FrontStreet Coffee, due to the estate's historical reasons, in pursuit of yield in the past, early Geisha varieties were mixed-planted with Caturra and Catuai variety coffee trees. Butterfly is manually blended later, but because all three varieties in Butterfly come from the same origin and region, it's considered a single-origin coffee.

The above covers FrontStreet Coffee's compilation of relevant information about Panama coffee and the flavor differences of current Panama coffee beans from FrontStreet Coffee. We hope this helps coffee enthusiasts choose Panama coffee beans with flavors that suit them.

Important Notice :

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