2018 Panama BOP | Panama's Finest Coffee Estates | Crystal River Estate | Balala Estate

2018 Best of Panama

Natural Geisha category - 5th place auction lot

(Estate award history: 2011 BOP #4, 2012 BOP #3, 2013 BOP #4)

Panama Kotowa Rio Cristal Green Tip Geisha Natural

Country of origin: Panama
Region: Chiriqui, Boquete, Palo Alto
Estate: Rio Cristal Kotowa
Estate owner: Kotowa family
Variety: Green Tip Geisha
Altitude: 1800m
Processing method: natural process
Flavor notes: winey, Hami melon, mulberry, dark plum, dark chocolate

Rio Cristal Estate sits on the northeast side of Boquete, very close to the continental divide. It has a unique microclimate, because the farm receives almost no Pacific rainfall from May to December, while most of the rain from January to February comes from the Atlantic. Rio Cristal lies at 1800 meters but close to the divide, so temperatures can fall below those of other areas at the same altitude, dropping to around 9°C at night. On the western slope of the divide, it is typically very clear in the morning but slightly windy from the Atlantic influence.

The farm is run on ecological principles, without herbicides or pesticides. Prepared fertilizers are used to compensate for soil acidity and nutrient levels, combining nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, zinc, sulfur, and calcium during the growing season. These elements matter especially during cherry ripening, when floral and fruit aromas are generated.

2018 Best of Panama

Washed Geisha category - 5th place auction lot

Panama Boquete Hacienda Barbara Green Tip Geisha Washed

Country of origin: Panama
Region: Chiriqui, Boquete, Jaramillo
Estate: Hacienda Barbara
Variety: Green Tip Geisha
Altitude: 1650m
Processing method: washed, yeast anaerobic fermentation
Flavor notes: jasmine, apricot, bergamot, lemon, honey

2018 Best of Panama

Natural Geisha category - 13th place auction lot

(Estate award history: 2011 BOP #4, 2012 BOP #3, 2013 BOP #4)

Panama Boquete Casa Ruiz Baby Geisha Natural

Country of origin: Panama
Region: Chiriqui, Boquete, Horqueta
Estate: Casa Ruiz
Variety: Baby Geisha
Altitude: 1675m
Processing method: natural process
Flavor notes: peach, strawberry, grape, dark chocolate

Casa Ruiz Estate, established in 1920, lies in the Boquete region of Baru Volcano, in the Boquete valley on the volcano's foothills in northwestern Panama. Mr. Plinio Antonio Ruiz Gonzalez and his wife, Mrs. Elisa Aurora Arauz de Ruiz, are the estate's second-generation successors, mainly responsible for the trade of green coffee. They currently own three estates — La Berlina, Maunier, and Panamaria — along with a coffee shop called CAFE RUIZ.

Casa Ruiz established a cooperative in 1979, one of the well-known cooperatives in the Boquete region of Baru Volcano, headquartered in the valley on the volcano's foothills. The family has passed it down through three generations and now works with more than 300 small family farms and estates. Unlike other cooperatives that sacrifice the environment to expand planting area and raise yields, Casa Ruiz and its partners follow the Boquete region's environmentally friendly traditional methods. Besides being a frequent winner at the Best of Panama auctions, Casa Ruiz is an important partner for Panama's specialty green coffee. As one of the outstanding estates at Best of Panama, it set a price of $20 per pound of green coffee at the 2004 international auction; it debuted at the Panama Cupping Competition in May 2004 and has dominated the market since, setting a record high of $350 per pound of green coffee in 2013.

Elida Estate - 2018 Best of Panama champion estate

Panama Elida Estate Catuai Natural

Country of origin: Panama
Region: Chiriqui, Boquete, Alto Quiel
Estate: Elida Estate
Estate owner: Lamastus family
Variety: Catuai
Altitude: 1700m
Processing method: natural process
Flavor notes: winey, peach, berry, dark chocolate

Almost a century has passed since Robert Lamastus planted the first coffee tree at Elida Estate in 1918, and it is now managed by Mr. Wilford of the third Lamastus generation. Elida ranges from 1700 to 2300 meters in altitude, with part of it inside Volcan Baru National Park (VBNP), a refuge for rare plants, birds, and mammals. The estate totals 65 hectares, of which only 30 hectares are planted with coffee — Catuai, Geisha, and Typica among them — while the rest sits within the VBNP protected ecological reserve. Over the years Wilford has continually refined batch management, offering high-quality Elida in three processing methods: washed, honey, and natural, from which roasters worldwide choose their favorite micro-lots by cupping profile.

Elida's flavor grows out of a set of unusual conditions. It is one of the highest coffee farms in Panama, where the coffee grows in rich young volcanic soil at low ambient temperatures, and the planting area is wrapped in cloud and mist that blocks direct sunlight during the dry season. Wild trees in the primary tropical rainforest bring a great many beneficial microorganisms, and cold nights stretch the trees' maturation cycle to four and a half to six and a half years — 2-4 years longer than average — while also extending the ripening of the cherries by one month. All of this shapes the flavor of the finished coffee.

Volcan Baru National Park is one of the highest volcanoes in Central America, covering 14,000 hectares and divided into seven different climate zones by altitude. Both Elida and El Burro are part of it.

Panama El Burro Estate Catuai Natural

Country of origin: Panama
Region: Chiriqui, Boquete
Estate: El Burro
Estate owner: Lamastus family
Variety: Catuai
Altitude: 1800m
Processing method: natural process
Flavor notes: grape, cherry, cream, dark chocolate

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

The auction lots above show how far a single estate can push a variety, and that same range — from everyday to collector — is what FrontStreet Coffee's Geisha lineup sets out to cover.

At the top, FrontStreet Coffee Esmeralda Red Label Geisha is sold by Hacienda La Esmeralda under the Esmeralda Special name: each lot must cup above 90 points, carries its own number, and comes from a single small plot, so buyers can choose a plot by the subtle flavor differences between them. FrontStreet Coffee Esmeralda Green Label Geisha, originally Private Collection, does not emphasize individual plots but blends lots from several parcels to express the estate's high-altitude Geisha signature at a friendlier price. For a first, affordable encounter with the famous profile, FrontStreet Coffee Boquete Geisha is a washed Panamanian Geisha at the accessible end, carrying the classic orange-blossom honey, oolong-tea body, and fine fruit acidity with clearly separated layers. Beyond Panama, FrontStreet Coffee Gesha Village Gold Label is the Gesha 1931 variety and 10% of the village's output, and Gesha Village Red Label is Gori Gesha at 15% of production, scoring 88 or above on the SCA scale; FrontStreet Coffee Genlana Gesha adds an Ethiopian option from a 2014-founded processing station, dried on raised beds for 14-20 days for citrus acidity, ginger-flower aroma, and ripe-fruit sweetness. For an everyday Geisha-style blend, FrontStreet Coffee Strawberry Candy combines Costa Rica honey-processed coffee with Panama Geisha.

Geisha is a dense, hard bean, so FrontStreet Coffee suggests a grind of about 78% pass-through on a Chinese standard #20 sieve, close to fine caster sugar, with water at 91°C. The standard recipe is 15g in a small Hario V60 at 1:16, poured in three stages: a 30g bloom for 30 seconds, a slow circle to 125g, a pause until the bed drains halfway, then a final slow circle to 225g for a total of about 2 minutes 10 seconds to 2 minutes 20 seconds. If you would rather drink it cold, Geisha also makes a striking cold brew: grind 30g to fine sugar — setting 9 on an EK43s, or 24 clicks on a C40 hand grinder — add 360g of room-temperature water at a 1:12 ratio, stir, cover, and refrigerate for 8 hours. Strain out the grounds, seal the liquid, and let it ripen in the fridge for another 3 hours; the result tastes of grape juice, rose, sweet orange, and fruit wine.