Finca Piedra de Panama Single Origin Bean: Grading, Pricing, Green Beans, and Roasting Curve

Finca Piedra Panama Single Origin Bean: Grading, Pricing, Green Beans, and Roasting Curve

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 being well-known. Other regions include the David district, Renacimiento district, Bugaba district, and Tole district. Only coffee grown at altitudes between 1300 and 1500 meters is considered specialty coffee.

Catuai

"Catuai" is a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra, essentially a second-generation hybrid. It inherits the advantage of Caturra's low tree height. The variety name Catuai comes from an indigenous language, meaning "very good." As a member of the Arabica family, Catuai is relatively high-yielding.

Cupping notes: dried fruit aroma, rich fruit acidity, noticeable sweetness on entry, lemon, orange, cranberry, green tea, smooth and even texture, soft with some floral notes, long-lasting aftertaste.

Panama Jurutungo Honey Catuai

Country: Panama

Grade: SHB

Region: Piedra de Candela area

Roast level: medium roast

Processing method: honey process

Variety: Catuai

Mill: Finca Piedra

Flavor: lemon, orange, cranberry, green tea

Panama

Population: 3,406,000

Panama's coffee definition is based on how the coffee is produced, not on geographical divisions. Previously, when coffee was more widely cultivated and the regions listed below were smaller and more clustered, the coffee beans produced could be combined as one unit.

Pour-over Panama Finca Piedra

15g coffee, medium grind (Fuji Royal grinder #4), V60 dripper, 88-89°C water temperature. First pour 30g water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level drops to half, then continue slow pouring until reaching 225g. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Shelf life: 90 days

Net weight: 227g

Packaging: bulk coffee beans

Bean state: roasted coffee beans

Sugar content: sugar-free

Origin: Panama

Roast level: medium roast

Panama Jurutungo Honey Catuai

Country: Panama

Grade: SHB

Region: Piedra de Candela area

Roast level: medium roast

Processing method: honey process

Variety: Catuai

Mill: Finca Piedra

Flavor: lemon, orange, cranberry, green tea

Cupping notes: dried fruit aroma, rich fruit acidity, noticeable sweetness on entry, lemon, orange, cranberry, green tea, smooth and even texture, soft with some floral notes, long-lasting aftertaste.

Catuai

Catuai is a coffee variety artificially hybridized from Caturra and Mundo Novo. Catuai has relatively good resistance to natural disasters, particularly wind and rain resistance.

The Catuai tree variety is relatively low-growing. Compared to other coffee trees, Catuai fruits grow more firmly and are not easy to pick. The fruits come in both red and yellow varieties. To date, no one has found that yellow fruits taste better than red fruits. In fact, some people have found in cupping that while coffee processed from yellow fruits has good acidity, the cleanliness of the coffee taste is worse than that from red fruits.

Catuai was cultivated in Brazil and is now widely planted in Central America.

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 being well-known. Other regions include the David district, Renacimiento district, Bugaba district, and Tole district. Only coffee grown at altitudes between 1300 and 1500 meters is considered specialty coffee.

"Catuai" is a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra, essentially a second-generation hybrid. It inherits the advantage of Caturra's low tree height. The variety name Catuai comes from an indigenous language, meaning "very good." As a member of the Arabica family, Catuai is relatively high-yielding.

BOQUETE

The Boquete region is the most famous Panama coffee-producing region. Its mountainous terrain creates many microclimates. The relatively cool weather and frequent fog help slow the maturation of coffee cherries, which some believe resembles high-altitude climate 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 and some amazing coffee. The region is named after the Baru Volcano and the city of Piedra Candela, bordering Costa Rica.

Altitude: 1,200-1,600m
Harvest: December - March

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

RENACIMIENTO

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

Altitude: 1,100-1,500m

Harvest: December - March

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

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Panama's coffee regions sit in the west of the country - Boquete, Volcan, Santa Clara, and Piedra de Candela - with Boquete and Volcan the most frequently heard names. Both lie in Chiriqui province, right in the heart of the coffee belt, blessed with fertile volcanic soil and old forests. In Boquete, clouds and mist often shroud the mountains: humid days, cool nights, and soil enriched by the Baru Volcano make it ideal for growing exceptional coffee.

For a first taste of Panamanian specialty coffee, FrontStreet Coffee recommends the Boquete washed Geisha: an estate-level entry Geisha grown at 1600 meters, where volcanic ash soil builds a rich aroma, and the brewed cup reveals jasmine florals, green tea, honey, citrus, and orange. If Geisha is beyond budget, FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Flower Butterfly offers half of Geisha's pedigree - a blend of Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai grown on the volcanic slopes of Baru - with excellent body, citrus acidity, and jasmine fragrance, delicious as pour-over or cold brew.

And if you want the very top tier, FrontStreet Coffee's Esmeralda Red Label Geisha is harvested from a single plot above 1700 meters and cupped at 91 points or higher, showing the exquisite orange-blossom honey character that made Panama famous. Brew any of them with the honey-process parameters above - a V60, medium grind, 88-89°C water, and a 1:15 ratio.