Hartmann Coffee Variety Introduction Characteristics Flavor Description Origin Information Estate Information

Panama Hartmann Manor Caturra Red Wine Process

Caturra coffee cherries are usually red, but in extremely rare regions there are yellow Caturra varieties; Hawaii, for example, cultivates a very small amount of yellow Caturra.

Coffee Origin Information

Country: Panama

Grade: SHG

Region: Volcán Region

Altitude: 1250-1700 Meters

Processing Method: Red Wine Process

Variety: Caturra

Estate: Hartmann Manor

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

Product Information

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee

Ingredients: House-roasted

Shelf Life: 30 days

Net Weight: 227g

Packaging: Bulk

Taste Profile: Neutral

Bean State: Roasted coffee beans

Sugar Content: Sugar-free

Origin: Panama

Coffee Type: Other

Roast Level: Medium roast

Hartmann Manor Introduction

The story of Hartmann Manor is as legendary as its coffee. The manor is located in Santa Clara, Chiriquí Province. Its founder was Mr. Alois St. Hartmann (Luis Hartmann), 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.

After 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 through several countries with his friends until he arrived in Panama in 1911 and settled in Chiriquí Province in 1912, active mainly in the Candela area, where he built the first small cabin in the primeval forest.

Today, Hartmann Manor is a family business founded in 1940 by Ratibor Hartmann, son of Luis Hartmann. In 1966, Ratibor married Dinora Zandi from Costa Rica. They had five children: Ratibor Jr., Allan, Alexander, Alice and Kelly. Each family member takes on different responsibilities for coffee cultivation management, harvesting and processing, and estate tours. A family estate that has grown coffee for over 100 years is itself a legendary story.

Brewing Method

Hand-pour Hartmann: 15g of coffee, medium grind (Fuji ghost-tooth grinder setting 4), V60 dripper, water temperature 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level drops to half before continuing. Slowly pour until reaching 225g, discarding the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

This family business has a state-level cupping laboratory and sample roasting room, and cups every batch of coffee cherries rigorously. That ensures the stable quality of Hartmann Manor's coffee and their continuous pursuit of improvement. Their scientific approach and nearly 100 years of family experience guarantee an excellent product.

A legendary estate with a state-level cupping laboratory and sample roasting room. Its rigorous attitude and strict standards ensure the stable quality of Hartmann Manor's coffee.

This batch is red wine processed Caturra. From the moment you open the bag it releases an extremely rich fruit wine aroma, accompanied by fresh smoked wood spice notes and the special sweet berry aroma of natural processing. Smelling it is intoxicating. On tasting, it brings rich tropical fruit flavors, like a cocktail carefully mixed from passion fruit, mango, orange and berry juices with peach wine. No - this is a cocktail from nature itself.

Red Wine Processing Method

Among all the coffee-producing regions on Earth, very few have successfully experimented with red-wine-style processing. After years of testing, the method can now control the acid structure in coffee. Coffee fermented this way greatly enhances sweetness, cleanliness and a layered, complex yet elegant acidity, significantly improving the quality and uniqueness of the cup.

The red wine processing method is also called the controlled fermentation method, or the lactic acid / acetic acid fermentation method.

The experimental team is led by American Felipe Sardi and made up of biological scientists and ecologists. They apply technologies such as solar energy to cultivation and green bean processing.

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

Fermentation Methods

Acetic Acid Fermentation - Aerobic Fermentation

Lactic Acid Fermentation - Anaerobic Fermentation

Expected Flavor Profiles

Acetic Acid Fermentation: cleaner, lively acidity, brighter acidity, citric acid

Lactic Acid Fermentation: more rounded taste, lower cleanliness compared with acetic acid fermentation, higher body, malic acid / tartaric acid

Previously, processing plants relied on generational manual methods, such as biting a bean to gauge the degree of fermentation. That approach is uncontrollable and variable.

The controlled fermentation method monitors fermentation by measuring pH value, achieving predictable results and consistent production batch after batch.

About the Caturra Variety

Caturra is a single-gene variant of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its yield and disease resistance are both better than Bourbon, and the plant is shorter, which makes harvesting convenient. Unfortunately, like Bourbon, it suffers from biennial yield cycles. It is highly adaptable, however, and doesn't need shade trees, thriving directly under intense sunlight - which is why it is called Sun Coffee. It tolerates high-density planting but requires more fertilizer, which raises costs, so farmers were initially slow to accept it.

But in the 1970s, when coffee prices soared, farmers switched to Caturra to raise yields. Vigorous promotion by Brazilian and Colombian authorities bore fruit. Accepting Caturra meant a major change in cultivation technology: Brazil and Colombia adopted high-yield, high-density sun-exposed planting, and by 1990 one million hectares could harvest 14 million bags of coffee beans, increasing yield by 60%. No wonder high-yield, high-quality Caturra has become a variety that producing countries now rely on.

Caturra is suited to planting from low altitudes of 700 meters up to 1700 meters. It adapts strongly to altitude: the higher the altitude, the better the flavor, but the relatively lower the yield. That is the fate of specialty beans. Some academics call Caturra the intensive, sun-exposed version of Bourbon, which is quite apt. There is also a yellow Caturra variant (Caturra Amarello) in Central and South America, but its reputation does not match that of Yellow Bourbon.

When Caturra is lightly roasted, its acidic aroma is obvious and it is overall bright. With proper processing the sweetness performs very well, but the body is relatively low compared with Bourbon and the cleanliness of the taste is somewhat lacking.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If Hartmann's red-wine-processed Caturra has you curious about Panama, FrontStreet Coffee's Boquete washed Gesha is the ideal introductory estate-level Gesha. It comes from Panama's most representative specialty region, grown at 1600 meters in fertile volcanic ash soil, and it is true to the variety. Brewed, it shows the citrus-honey character that defines Gesha, with jasmine florals, green tea, honey, citrus and orange, and its excellent value lets you explore Panama Gesha through several different brewing methods.

For something with more of a Gesha pedigree at an approachable level, the FrontStreet Butterfly is half Gesha blood, made up of Gesha, Caturra and Catuai, grown in the Baru volcano area of Boquete. Boquete's particular microclimate brings abundant rainfall and large day-night temperature swings, and the volcanic soil, careful picking and meticulous processing give it impressive body, citrus acidity and Gesha's jasmine aroma - equally good as pour-over or cold brew.

And for the summit of the category, the FrontStreet Emerald Estate Red Label is the highest grade of Gesha. It is harvested from a single plot above 1700 meters, with a cupping score of 91, showing a refined citrus-honey character.