Introduction to Panama Finca Candela Single Origin Beans | Brewing Guide for Panama Finca Candela Single Origin Coffee

Panama Jurutungo Honey Caruai

Country: Panama

Grade: SHB

Region: Huethu Region

Roast Level: Medium Roast

Processing: Honey Process

Variety: Catuai

Mill: Huethu Estate

Flavor: Lemon, orange, cranberry, green tea

Panama

Population: 3,406,000

Panama coffee is defined by how it is produced rather than by geographical divisions. In the past, when coffee was more widely cultivated, the beans grown in the smaller and more densely clustered regions listed below could be grouped together as a single unit.

BOQUETE

Boquete is the most famous growing region in Panama. Its mountainous terrain creates many microclimates. The relatively cool weather and frequent fog help slow the maturation of the coffee cherries, and some believe this mimics true high-altitude conditions.

Altitude: 400-1,900m

Harvest: December - March

Varieties: Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon, Geisha, San Ramon

VOLCAN-CANDELA

The Volcan-Candela region produces most of Panama's food supply along with some remarkable coffee. It takes its name from the Baru Volcano and the town of Piedra Candela on the border with Costa Rica.

Altitude: 1,200-1,600m

Harvest: December - March

Varieties: Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon, Geisha, San Ramon

RENACIMIENTO

Renacimiento is a growing region in Chiriqui province, bordering Costa Rica. The area itself is relatively small, so it is not Panama's main specialty coffee region.

Altitude: 1,100-1,500m

Harvest: December - March

Varieties: Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon, Geisha, San Ramon

Panama's premium coffee is grown in the western part of the country, near Costa Rica and close to the Pacific Ocean. The coffee produced in the Boquete district of Chiriqui province is the most famous, with Volcan, Santa Clara and Candela also well known. Other regions include the David, Renacimiento, Bugaba and Tole districts. Only coffee grown at altitudes between 1,300 and 1,500 meters is considered specialty coffee.

Catuai

Catuai is a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra, essentially a second-generation cross. It inherits Caturra's advantage of a short plant stature. The name Catuai comes from an indigenous word meaning "very good." As a member of the Arabica family, Catuai is relatively high-yielding.

Cupping Notes

Dried fruit aroma, rich fruit acidity and pronounced sweetness on the palate, with notes of lemon, orange, cranberry and green tea. The texture is uniformly smooth and soft with subtle floral notes, and the aftertaste lingers for a long time.

Manufacturer: Coffee Workshop

Address: No. 10 Bao'an Qianjie Street, Yandun Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, FrontStreet Coffee

Manufacturer Contact: 020-38364473

Shelf Life: 90 days

Net Weight: 227g

Packaging: Bulk coffee beans

Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans

Sugar Content: Sugar-free

Origin: Panama

Roast Degree: Medium roast

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Panama is the country that made Geisha famous, and FrontStreet Coffee keeps a full Geisha line for anyone who wants to taste why. At the top sits FrontStreet Coffee's Esmeralda Red Label Geisha, formally Esmeralda Special, grown between 1600 and 1800 meters. Every lot must cup above 90 points and carries its own lot number drawn from a single plot, so buyers can pick the exact micro-lot profile they prefer. FrontStreet Coffee's Esmeralda Green Label Geisha, formerly Private Collection, blends several plots instead and focuses on the estate's signature high-altitude Geisha character at a friendlier price, which makes it the stronger value of the two.

If you are new to Geisha, FrontStreet Coffee usually points first to the Panama Boquete Geisha — an entry-level Geisha that lets you taste the classic Panama profile of orange-blossom honey, oolong tea-like body, delicate fruit acidity and clear layering at a fair price. For a step up, the Ethiopia Gesha Village line is worth exploring: the Gold Label is the Gesha 1931 variety and accounts for 10% of the village's output, refined with a delicate natural process, while the Red Label is the Gori Gesha variety at 15% of production, scoring 88 points or above on the SCA 100-point scale as a single-terroir series with full traceability. FrontStreet Coffee's Genlana Geisha from the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Genlana farm, a rare single-variety estate, is dried on raised beds for 14-20 days and, at a medium-light roast, shows bright citrus acidity, elegant ginger-lily aromatics and ripe-fruit sweetness.

Geisha is a medium-light, floral-fruity coffee with a dense bean that tends to sink and clog the drain hole, so FrontStreet Coffee recommends a grind of roughly fine sugar — about 78% passing a Chinese standard No. 20 sieve — and 91℃ water. For pour-over, use 15g of coffee in a small Hario V60 with a 1:16 ratio and a three-stage pour: start the timer and pour to 30g for a 30-second bloom; then pour in a small circling stream to 125g; wait until the bed drains to half, then continue to 225g. Total extraction runs about 2'10" to 2'20". Geisha also works well as an SOE: FrontStreet Coffee's Genlana Geisha SOE, medium roasted, is an Ethiopia single origin whose espresso brings out dried apricot, caramel and nut notes, and it makes a bright Americano or a creamy latte.