Panama Caturra/Catuai Coffee - Panama Finca Santa Teresa Washed Caturra/Catuai

Product Details

Product Name: FrontStreet Coffee Panama Finca Santa Teresa Caturra/Catuai Washed

Region: Santa Clara production area, La Amistad

Varieties: Caturra/Catuai, Washed process

Producer: Finca Santa Teresa

Altitude: 1400-1500 meters

Grade: Strictly Hard Bean (SHB)

Size: 100 hectares

Processing: Washed

Harvest: N/A

Flavor Characteristics: Strawberry floral notes, creamy roasted nuts with sucrose sweetness, milk chocolate, and a pleasant sweet-sour sensation.

Award Records

• 2013 Best of Panama –
  • Third place (Geisha Natural)
  • Fourth place (Geisha Honey)
  • Sixth place (Geisha Lavado)
• 2012 – Used by the World Brewer's Cup Champion (FST Geisha)
• 2012 Best of Panama – Fourth place (Geisha)
• 2011 Best of Panama – Third place
• 2007 Best of Panama – Sixth place
• 2005 Best of Panama – Fourth place

Introduction

Coffee arrived in Panama in 1780, when Europeans brought the first Typica varieties. Since then, this mysterious and captivating beverage has conquered the senses of Panamanians, and locals began growing it widely. Panama coffee is very smooth, with full-bodied beans that are light in weight and perfectly balanced acidity. Its high-quality beans offer pure, distinctive flavors, and a medium roast is recommended. Many buyers like to use Panamanian beans in blends, and almost all of the country's top-quality coffee is exported to France and Finland.

Main coffee-producing regions in Panama:

• Boquete: This region produces abundant, high-quality coffee, making it the area with the highest output and best quality in Panama.
• Volcan: Coffee from this area is characterized by mild, balanced flavors, gradually attracting attention from international connoisseurs and coffee lovers. Many believe it will soon rival Boquete.
• Santa Clara: Fertile coffee farms here are irrigated and nourished by clear river water from the Chorerra waterfall. Combined with proximity to the Panama Canal, fresh, pure Panama coffee can be shipped conveniently around the world.
• Piedra de Candela: This region is considered to hold the greatest potential for developing high-quality specialty coffee.

Panama has been the hottest origin in Central America for the past 5-6 years, mainly because of a variety called Geisha grown by the Peterson family at Hacienda La Esmeralda, which drove coffee enthusiasts wild. Geisha has since been acclaimed as the world's top coffee bean. For this reason, Panama's Best of Panama auction stands apart from the Central and South America cupping competitions and was the earliest of its kind, held annually in mid-May. Panamanian coffee impresses not only through the Geisha variety but also through continuous innovation in green bean processing. Alongside traditional washed processing, there is the honey processing method popular in neighboring Costa Rica, and Panama also produces small quantities of naturally sun-dried beans that are gradually emerging in Central America and drawing global attention.

Finca Santa Teresa, located in the Santa Clara production area near the border between Panama and Costa Rica, is run by owner Juan Pablo Berard and his daughter Maria Luisia, who together manage this 100-hectare coffee farm. They preserve 25 hectares as original forest to serve as habitat for local flora and fauna. The varieties planted include Caturra, Catuai, and Geisha. The farm has won numerous awards and is equally committed to education: it has joined the non-profit organization Casa Esperanza, which provides two teachers, and Juan Pablo built school facilities and supplies books and meals, dedicating himself to local educational development. Although the farm's planted area is small, it is well equipped with its own processing plant, capable of handling everything from cherry to burlap sacks. Most employees are local residents from the border area and are well cared for by the farm's owners.

This micro-lot that FrontStreet Coffee acquired from Panama Finca Santa Teresa (Washed Caturra/Catuai) offers distinctive flavors and has won countless awards in Panama's annual competitions over the years.

[FrontStreet Coffee Panama Washed Finca Santa Teresa] Flavor Characteristics: Strawberry floral notes, creamy roasted nuts with sucrose sweetness, milk chocolate, and a pleasant sweet-sour sensation.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the award-laden pedigree of Finca Santa Teresa has you curious about Panamanian coffee, FrontStreet Coffee stocks several ways to explore it. For a taste of the Geisha that made Panama famous, the entry-level FrontStreet Boquete Geisha delivers the classic orange-blossom honeyed character with oolong tea notes, delicate fruit acidity, and distinct layers at an accessible price. For the full experience, the FrontStreet Esmeralda Red Label Geisha grows at 1600-1800 meters, cups above 90 points, and comes from a single named plot — the ultimate expression of Panama's flagship flavor — while the Esmeralda Green Label (Private Collection) blends lots from multiple high-altitude plots for a more affordable take on the same signature profile. Every one of these is a light-to-medium roast; brew it as a pour-over with a coarse grind (78% pass-through on a #20 sieve) and 91°C water to fully reveal those floral and fruity notes that made Panama the hottest origin in Central America.