Sophia Estate Background and the Flavor Profile of Its Most Expensive Super Geisha Premium Coffee Beans

The Rise of Finca Sophia: From BOP Champion to Coffee Excellence

The Panama BOP (Best of Panama) is the Oscars of the green coffee industry. Winning first place in BOP can increase a farm's value a hundredfold. There is one particular farm that started in 2008, spending a decade honing its craft. In 2017, it participated in the Best of Panama (BOP) competition for the first time and directly claimed the championship title in the Geisha washed category! Several years later, in 2020, it competed again and achieved remarkable results by winning the washed category championship and taking second place in the natural category! This is Finca Sophia, which FrontStreet Coffee is introducing today.

In 2008, Willem Boot acquired a high-altitude farm from Ricardo Koyner, the owner of Kotowa Farm, naming it Finca Sophia. Sophia is located in the town of Volcan, Panama.

Willem Boot is also a veteran coffee expert. In 2004, he had the honor of serving as a judge at the Panama BOP, where he tasted the Geisha coffee beans submitted by Hacienda La Esmeralda that year. From that moment, he fell deeply in love with Geisha. Later, through a fortunate opportunity in 2005, he purchased Don Pachi Estate to grow Geisha. He also traveled to the Kaffa region of Ethiopia in search of Geisha and helped the accompanying documentary director establish Gesha Village in Bench Maji. In 2008, he had a bold idea: to grow the finest Geisha.

High-Altitude Cultivation Challenges

Finca Sophia is situated at an altitude of 1,900-2,150 meters, making it one of the highest-altitude coffee farms in Central America. From the day Finca Sophia was established, Willem and his partners have been exploring the boundaries of growing world-class coffee at the highest possible altitudes. Initially, they planted 15,000 Geisha coffee seedlings at the highest point of the farm, but they soon encountered their first setback. By the third year, all the Geisha trees had died from frost due to the extreme altitude—none survived. In 2012, they planted another 15,000 Geisha coffee seedlings between 1,900-2,000 meters altitude. Due to the high elevation, unlike the typical five-year maturation period, the Geisha coffee here requires a longer growing period, taking 7-10 years to reach commercial production. That's why Finca Sophia only brought its limited production Geisha coffee to BOP in 2017, where it won first place.

Farm Management and Harvest

The farm was named after "Sophia," the goddess of wisdom in ancient Greek mythology. Its logo design comes from a highland pigeon (known as Torcaza in Spanish) that inhabits the farm. The farm is jointly owned by Willem and his American partner Equator Coffee Roasters, with daily management handled by Kelly Hartmann, the younger son of the Hartmann coffee family from Panama.

Currently, the farm is divided into four zones, with main production in Zone 3 and Zone 4. The higher-altitude Zone 1 and Zone 2 require more time to adapt. Finca Sophia's harvest period differs from other regions in Panama. While Panama's coffee harvest generally concentrates from August to December, Finca Sophia's high altitude causes coffee to mature more slowly, making February to June of the following year the harvest period.

Production Philosophy and Flavor Profile

Finca Sophia is a micro-farm with limited annual production of approximately 300-400 kilograms. Currently, at FrontStreet Coffee stores, you can taste natural processed Geisha coffee beans from the 2022 harvest season. This Geisha undergoes refined natural processing. According to farm owner Willem's philosophy, he believes that Panama's Geisha doesn't need fancy processing methods—simple natural and washed processing can reflect Geisha's original flavors. It is precisely Willem's philosophy that allows us to taste high-quality high-altitude Geisha coffee from Panama.

To preserve the captivating floral and fruit aromas of Geisha coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee uses light roasting. Through cupping comparisons, this natural processed coffee bean from Finca Sophia displays cantaloupe and rose dry aroma after grinding; upon sipping, it reveals notes of orange, cantaloupe, apple juice, rose, and oolong tea sensations—high sweetness with excellent aftertaste.

Brewing Recommendations

Because these Finca Sophia natural Geisha coffee beans are grown in high-altitude regions, the beans themselves have high density, and light roasting hasn't significantly changed this density. Therefore, medium-fine grinding (78% pass-through rate with China #20 standard sieve) and higher water temperature can be used for extraction and brewing.

FrontStreet Coffee Pour-Over Parameters:

Dripper: V60
Coffee amount: 15g
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15
Grind size: 78% pass-through rate with China #20 standard sieve
Water temperature: 90-91°C
Three-stage spiral pour-over technique: First, use 30g of water to fully saturate the coffee bed into a "hamburger" shape and bloom for 30 seconds, then proceed to the second stage; FrontStreet Coffee uses steady medium-fine water flow in a spiral pattern to 125g, then stops, waiting for the water level to drop to 2/3 of the coffee bed before pouring the third stage; the third stage continues with medium-fine water in a spiral pattern to 225g and ends the pour. Total extraction time is 2'20".

FrontStreet Coffee Finca Sophia Natural Geisha Flavor Profile:

The entry presents orange-like acidity and sweetness with cantaloupe and rose aromas, the mid-section reveals apple juice-like freshness, and the aftertaste shows oolong tea-like lingering notes~

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Important Notice :

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