Panama Santamaria Coffee Farm - What's the Flavor Profile of Catuai Coffee Beans? Santamaria Catuai

Panama Santamaria Coffee Farm — Caturra Bean Flavor, and How to Brew Santamaria Caturra by Pour-Over

Santamaria Estate Coffee Farm lies in Paso Ancho, in the Cerro Punta region of Bugaba district, Chiriquí province, in the Republic of Panama. The lowest point of the coffee plantation is 1564 masl and the highest reaches 1946 masl. The farm covers 120 hectares in total, 60 of them planted with the varieties Caturra, Typica or Criollo, and Geisha. The soil has a distinctive volcanic character, with a certain amount of rainfall each year, and the beans from its various high-quality Arabicas carry very particular aromas, acidity and fragrance.

The farm began operations in 1950 under its founder, Don Urbano Santamaría (RIP), who established the coffee plantation and later sold it to the Martins family, owners of Finca La Florentina SA, near the village of Santa María.

He began by planting tall Arabica varieties such as Criollo, Bourbon and Mundo Novo, at a density of 1800 seedlings per hectare.

For health reasons, Don Urbano Santamaría handed the management of his legacy to Don José Luis Santamaría in 1980, who continued the agricultural practices and maintained the heritage. He began planting dwarf but high-yielding varieties such as Caturra, which has become the farm's main variety and today accounts for 80% of its production.

In the 1990s, Ing. Edwin Santamaría took over the farm management, bringing new momentum, improving planting and production processes, and helping both productivity and coffee quality rise markedly. He is already the third generation of the family to devote himself to this work.

With Caturra introduced, planting density rose to 3600 seedlings per hectare, as Caturra was replanted among the tall varieties. That created a unique combination in every batch, and the diversity has led to high-quality coffee and improved yield per hectare.

The specialty coffee produced by the company is sold under the brand name SANTAMARÍA ESTATE COFFEE.

The farm produces high-altitude specialty coffee (altitude 1,564 to 1,946 meters). Coffee grown at this altitude is of excellent quality and carries all the characteristics required to be rated specialty coffee SHB (Strictly Hard Bean) on the international market.

The coffee is made with local and international experts and the green labels, and is characterised by a unique aroma, taste and body, while the cup profile shows chocolate flavour with medium to high acidity and a pleasant aftertaste.

The farm is working to adopt environmentally friendly agricultural practices, such as using organic agricultural products. Under its green labels, pesticides, tree felling and hunting are not allowed. The farm also designates certain areas as forest protection zones, which hold crystalline drinking water and supply water to cooperative families and the eco-processing plants.

Flavor Profile

Sweet, delicate and rich. Jasmine, orange, sandalwood, sweet ripe banana, and in the cup an aroma of roasted cocoa particles, with a rounded, elegant sweetness. Light yet full-bodied. Jasmine, sandalwood and banana come together for a sweet, lasting aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommended Brewing:

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 91°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal R-440 #3.5

Brewing Method: A 1:15 water-to-coffee ratio with 15g of coffee grounds. First infusion 25g of water, bloom for 25 seconds. Second infusion to 120g, then stop pouring. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then slowly pour until reaching 225g total. Extraction time around 2:00 minutes.

Analysis:

The three-stage pour defines the front, middle and back of the cup clearly. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains faster, stopping the pour mid-brew extends the extraction time, bringing out the nutty and chocolate flavours at the back.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Panama is where Geisha made its name, and the story is worth telling: the variety's striking flavour was noticed by the owner of Hacienda La Esmeralda and entered in the Best of Panama competition in 2003, where it stunned every judge, averaged a cupping score of 94.6 and took first place, breaking the BOP record — and overnight became the most sought-after coffee in the world. Panama Geisha shows a pronounced orange-blossom honey character, generous floral perfume with juicy fruit sweetness and acidity, and a tea-like finish; to experience it at the top level, FrontStreet suggests Esmeralda's two grades — the Red Label (Esmeralda Special) and the Green Label (Private Collection) — both of which perform beautifully as pour-over.

In recent years drinkers have also gone back to Ethiopia, coffee's homeland, to find Geisha's original expression. Gesha Village, 475 hectares in size and about 12 miles from the Gesha forest, was planted with varieties chosen to come closest to Panama Geisha — effectively the original rootstock — in plant form, bean shape and cup profile. Compared with Panama, Ethiopian Geisha tends to show brighter fruit acidity: FrontStreet's entry-level Genlana estate Geisha, roasted medium-light, keeps a pleasant white floral note while bringing forward orange, guava and citrus sweetness and acidity, with a clearer finish, and the estate-level Gesha Village Gold and Red Labels are step-up single origins for more experienced drinkers. FrontStreet also blends a Costa Rican honey process with Panama Geisha in its Strawberry Candy, a more affordable alternative with fine florals and sweet fruit that works for pour-over, moka pot, espresso machine and cold brew — for cold brew, use 30g of beans ground to fine-sugar size (EK43s setting 9, or C40 setting 24), add 360g of room-temperature drinking water at 1:12, refrigerate for 8 hours, filter, then chill a further 3 hours, for a cup of grape juice, rose, sweet orange and fruit wine.