Panama Mariposa Coffee Bean Regional Characteristics & Panama Light Roast Fruity Pour-Over Parameters

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Butterfly Coffee Bean

Panama Boquete Butterfly

Country: Panama

Grade: SHB

Region: Boquet

Roast Level: Medium-Light Roast

Processing: Natural/Washed

Varieties: 70% Geisha, Caturra, Catuai

Flavor: Tea aroma, honey, berries, lemon, white floral notes

Panama is a Central American country, bordered by Costa Rica to the west and Colombia to the east. Those familiar with single-origin coffee know that Panama coffee is famous in the coffee world for the Geisha variety from Hacienda La Esmeralda. It can be said to be a country that pursues excellence in coffee and produces high-quality coffee beans.

Panama coffee is famous for the Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda, and the region where this estate is located is also quite renowned - that is the Boquete region in Chiriqui province. Boquete is a town in Chiriqui province, situated near the border between Panama and Costa Rica, close to the famous Baru volcano. With its beautiful scenery, fertile and rich soil, and climate and soil conditions perfect for producing high-quality coffee.

Within the Boquete region, there are many outstanding estates. Besides the famous Hacienda La Esmeralda, there are also renowned estates like Elida Estate and Akaba Estate, all producing excellent specialty coffee. This is not only due to Panama's superior ecological conditions in the Boquete region and the fertile volcanic ash soil of the Baru volcano area. Another important factor is the microclimate present in Panama's Boquete highlands, which is a unique resource for the region's specialty coffee. Panama's east-to-west environmental pattern causes cold air currents to converge above 6,500 feet through the central mountain range, creating various microclimates in the Boquete area. These conditions of temperature and rainfall are ideal for plant growth, allowing coffee trees planted here to thrive exceptionally well.

In such a privileged growing environment as Boquete, there naturally exists more than just the famous Geisha - a coffee king with extraordinary flavor, quality, and value. However, drinking Geisha daily would be quite luxurious, and even if there's no financial pressure, treating it like daily delicacies wouldn't be appropriate. The same applies to coffee - broad exploration leads to greater enjoyment of coffee tasting pleasure.

So in the land of Boquete, there exists a bean with exceptionally high cost-performance ratio, bearing a very beautiful name: Butterfly. Panama Butterfly coffee beans have 40% Geisha premium bloodline, composed of three varieties: Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai. They are grown in the Baru volcano region of Boquete, at an altitude of 1,600 meters in volcanic areas. The processing plant uses refined washed processing. Panama's special local microclimate leads to abundant rainfall in this region, along with significant day-night temperature differences. Combined with the unique volcanic rock soil of the volcanic area, as well as meticulous harvesting and refined processing, this coffee performs exceptionally well in terms of body, acidity, and floral notes.

Even more surprisingly, on top of its excellent quality, a very approachable price makes this coffee bean's cost-performance ratio outstanding. The special feature of this coffee bean is that it's composed of three varieties, with 40% Geisha variety, giving this coffee very distinct Geisha characteristics. According to research data, due to historical reasons at the estate, when pursuing yields in the past, early Geisha varieties were mixed and planted together with Caturra and Catuai variety coffee trees. To facilitate harvesting, coffee farmers didn't reclassify them but directly mixed the three varieties for processing. Later, after Geisha became famous and prices soared, the processing plant began applying refined washed processing to such coffee beans.

There are many washed processing methods today, but generally, after coffee cherries are harvested, floating beans are removed, then the pulp is removed, and the coffee beans are soaked in fermentation tanks. Enzymes in the water soften the mucilage attached to the coffee bean's inner parchment, while natural yeast breaks down the sugars in the mucilage. This process is called fermentation. After fermentation is complete, the coffee beans are moved to drying fields to dry. During the drying process, coffee beans need constant turning to ensure even drying. Finally, they are stored in warehouses with their parchment intact, and only after green bean merchants place orders are they dehulled and bagged. Coffee processed this way has a clean taste, emphasizing bright, lively fruit acidity, along with clear fruit flavors and floral notes.

Therefore, one can imagine that with the superiority of Butterfly's varieties combined with refined processing methods, if medium-light roast is used to complete the final flavor direction of this bean, you will surely give great recognition to this Butterfly coffee that possesses Geisha's characteristic floral notes, Southeast Asian fruits, berry flavors, along with honey's sweetness and smoothness, with very persistent aroma and aftertaste.

Cupping Notes:

Fragrance (Dry Aroma): Jasmine flower, citrus, tea aroma, honey

Aroma (Wet Aroma): Berries, floral notes, buttery aroma, vanilla, citrus

Flavor (Sipping): Juice sweetness, delicate and non-irritating acidity, excellent cleanliness, bergamot, honey, citrus, spices, floral notes, berries, tea aroma, cherry, refined aftertaste, persistent aroma, classic Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha flavor.

Mouthfeel Description: Jasmine floral notes, citrus, tea aroma, honey, berries, vanilla, bright acidity! The Butterfly coffee containing Geisha varieties is a specialty coffee bean with extremely high cost-performance ratio!

Everyone knows that Geisha coffee is world-famous for its rich floral notes and complex fruit profiles. FrontStreet Coffee's roaster hopes this washed Butterfly coffee can retain more of Geisha's excellent acidity, thus choosing medium-light roast. This roast level doesn't significantly change the high density of beans grown at high altitudes, so brewing requires a higher extraction rate to present fuller flavor layers. FrontStreet Coffee uses higher water temperature and finer grind size to stimulate more aromatic compounds. Additionally, FrontStreet Coffee wants its floral and fruity characteristics to be clearer, so they'll use a slightly larger coffee-to-water ratio of 1:16.

To improve coffee extraction rate, avoid over-extraction, and highlight sweet and sour flavor layers, FrontStreet Coffee's barista uses a V60 dripper. The V60 dripper's body has flow ribs connecting the top and bottom and a large circular hole at the center, which speeds up water flow. The spiral-shaped air vent design lengthens the water flow path, increasing contact time between coffee grounds and hot water. Each water stream converges along the grooves toward the dripper's center point, concentrating pressure on the coffee grounds, resulting in more layered extracted coffee.

Brewing Parameters:

Dripper: V60

Water Temperature: 91-92°C

Coffee Dose: 15g

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: Fine sugar size (80% through #20 sieve)

Three-Stage Extraction:

First stage: Use 30g of water for 30-second bloom, pouring in even circles to form a dome. Second stage: Pour 95g of hot water. When the coffee bed drops to halfway, begin the third stage with 100g until all coffee has finished dripping. Note to start pouring from the center point, using small water flow with gentle circular motions throughout to avoid uneven extraction. Finally, after the coffee has finished dripping, gently swirl to mix, then you can begin tasting the Butterfly coffee's flavors starting from high temperature.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473