Panama Finca Candela Single Origin Coffee Estates & Roasting Recommendations

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Catuai

"Catuai" is a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra - truly a second-generation cross. It inherits Caturra's advantage of low plant height, and 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, distinct sweetness on entry. Lemon, orange, cranberry, and green tea notes, with a uniform, smooth texture, softness carrying subtle floral notes, and a long-lasting aftertaste.

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee
Address: No. 10 Bao'an Front Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou
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

Panama Jurutungo Honey Catuai

Country: Panama
Grade: SHB
Region: Jurutungo growing area
Roast Degree: Medium roast
Processing Method: Honey process
Variety: Catuai
Processing Mill: Jurutungo Estate
Flavor Notes: Lemon, orange, cranberry, green tea

Panama

Population: 3,406,000

Panama's coffee definitions are based on how coffee is produced rather than on geographical divisions. Previously, when coffee was more widely cultivated and the regions listed below were smaller and more closely clustered, the beans they produced could be combined as a single unit.

BOQUETE

Boquete is Panama's most famous growing region. Its mountainous terrain creates many microclimates, and the relatively cool weather and frequent fog slow the maturation of coffee cherries - conditions some compare to high-altitude climates.

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 and some amazing coffee. The region is named after Baru Volcano and the city of Piedra Candela, and it borders 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 that borders Costa Rica. The area itself is relatively small, so it is not a major specialty coffee producer within Panama.

Altitude: 1,100-1,500m
Harvest: December - March
Varieties: Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon, Geisha, San Ramon

Panama's premium coffee grows in the western part of the country, near Costa Rica and close to the Pacific Ocean. Coffee from 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 qualifies as specialty coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Panama's coffee regions - Boquete, Volcan, Santa Clara, and Piedra de Candela - sit in the country's west, squarely in the heart of the coffee belt, with fertile volcanic soil and old-growth forest. If this Jurutungo Honey Catuai is your first taste of Panamanian specialty coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's baristas would point you next to the entry-level FrontStreet Coffee Boquete Geisha: grown at 1600 meters where mountain mists, humid days, cool nights, and Baru Volcano's fertile ash soil nourish the trees, it brews into Geisha's signature jasmine florals, green tea, honey, citrus, and orange.

Want Geisha character at a friendlier price? FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Butterfly (Huadie) carries half Geisha lineage - a blend of Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai grown in the Baru Volcano area of Boquete, where abundant rain, wide day-night temperature swings, and volcanic rock soil - combined with meticulous picking and processing - produce a coffee outstanding in body, citrus acidity, and jasmine aroma, lovely as pour-over or cold brew. And for the summit, FrontStreet Coffee's Esmeralda Red Label Geisha is harvested from a single Geisha plot above 1700 meters with a required cupping score of 91+, showing that refined orange-blossom honeyed character that made the estate famous.

For a non-Geisha gem from the same estate, FrontStreet Coffee's Diamond Mountain (Zuanshishan) comes from Esmeralda's star independent brand, grown mainly on Caturra and Catuai picked from the Jaramillo and Canas Verdes farms - two of the estate's four, whose volcanic soil and forest shade yield beans with rich fruit aroma and sweetness, hugely popular alongside the estate's Geisha.