Panama Flint Manor Coffee Bean Flavor Description and Brewing Guide

BOQUETE

Boquete is Panama's best-known growing region. Its mountainous terrain creates a wealth of microclimates, and the relatively cool weather and frequent fog help slow the ripening of the coffee cherries — conditions some compare to a high-altitude climate.

Altitude: 400-1,900m

Harvest: December - March

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

VOLCAN-CANDELA

The Volcan Candela region grows most of Panama's food and some remarkable coffee. It takes its name from 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 region inside Chiriqui province that borders Costa Rica. Because the area itself is fairly small, it is not counted among Panama's major specialty coffee regions.

Altitude: 1,100-1,500m

Harvest: December - March

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

Panama Coffee Overview

Premium Panama coffee is grown in the western part of the country, near Costa Rica and close to the Pacific coast. Coffee from the Boquete district of Chiriqui province is the most famous, with Volcan, Santa Clara and Candela also well known. Other areas include the David, Remacimiento, Bugaba and Tole districts. Only coffee grown between 1,300 and 1,500 meters is considered specialty coffee.

Catuai Variety

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

Cupping notes: Dried fruit aroma, rich fruit acidity, pronounced sweetness on entry, lemon, orange, cranberry, green tea, with a uniform and smooth texture, gentle with subtle floral notes, and a long-lasting aftertaste.

Panama Jurutunguo Honey Catuai

Country: Panama

Grade: SHB

Region: Jurutunguo

Roast Level: Medium Roast

Processing Method: Honey Process

Variety: Catuai

Processing Station: Jurutunguo Estate

Flavor Notes: Lemon, orange, cranberry, green tea

Panama Country Profile

Population: 3,406,000

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

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Panama is where Geisha first made its name, and the country's finest lots still come from the Boquete area and the surrounding highlands. FrontStreet Coffee's Panama range opens with the Boquete Geisha, an entry-level Geisha that lets you taste the classic Panamanian orange-blossom-and-honey character — an oolong-tea feel, delicate fruit acidity and clearly defined layers — at an approachable price. Step up and the choices are the Esmeralda Red Label (Esmeralda Special) and Green Label (Private Collection) Geishas: Red Label is grown at 1,600-1,800 m, each lot cups above 90 points and carries its own lot number, with every bean taken from a single small plot, such as the Jaramillo plot.

Green Label blends lots from several plots to express Esmeralda's signature high-altitude Geisha profile; because it is not tied to one plot it is more affordable, which makes FrontStreet's Green Label outstanding value. For a honey-processed cup from the same country, FrontStreet's Panama Jurutunguo Honey Catuai is a medium roast of the Catuai variety showing lemon, orange, cranberry and green tea.

Geisha is a light-to-medium roast, floral-and-fruity style, and its hard, dense bean tends to sink and clog the dripper. FrontStreet Coffee suggests grinding to roughly the texture of fine caster sugar — about a 78% pass-through on a Chinese-standard No. 20 sieve — and brewing at 91°C. A typical FrontStreet pour-over uses 15 g of coffee, a small Hario V60 and a 1:16 ratio, poured in three stages: bloom to 30 g for 30 seconds, then a slow spiral pour to 125 g; wait until the bed has drained halfway, then continue the slow spiral pour to 225 g. Total drawdown runs about 2:10 to 2:20. Geisha also works as an SOE, and FrontStreet's medium-roast Genlana Estate Geisha SOE pulls as dried apricot, caramel and nuts.