Bidding for 2018 Best Panama BOP | Santamaría Estate Geisha Fine Natural Process

Brewing Guide for 2018 Best of Panama BOP | Santamaría Estate Geisha Natural Process GN08

Santamaría Estate

The Santamaría Estate coffee farm is located in Paso Ancho, Cerro Punta, Boquete District, Chiriquí Province, Republic of Panama. The coffee-growing area ranges from 1,564 to 1,946 meters above sea level. The total farm area is 120 hectares, of which 60 hectares are planted with Caturra, Typica or Criollo, and Geisha varieties. The soil has special volcanic characteristics, combined with a certain amount of annual rainfall, producing high-quality Arabica beans with very special aromas, acidity, and body.

The farm was established in 1950 by its founder Don Urbano Santamaría (RIP), who planted the coffee and later sold it to the Martins family, owners of Finca La Florentina S.A., located near the property. Santamaría began by planting tall Arabica varieties such as Criollo, Bourbon, and Mundo Novo, at 1,800 seedlings per hectare.

For health reasons, Santamaría Sr. transferred estate management to his son in 1980, who continued agricultural cultivation and estate maintenance. He began planting dwarf but high-yield varieties such as Caturra, which has become the dominant variety on the farm and now accounts for 80% of its production. In the 1990s, Edwin Santamaría took over farm management, bringing new vitality to the farm and improving planting and production processes, which helped raise productivity and significantly improve coffee quality. The family is now in its third generation of coffee farming. With the introduction of Caturra, replanting it among the high-altitude varieties increased planting density to 3,600 plants per hectare. This created unique combinations in all batches, and the resulting diversity led to high-quality coffee and increased yield per hectare. The specialty coffee produced by the company is sold under the brand StaMaría Estate Coffee.

The farm produces high-altitude specialty coffee (1,564 to 1,946 meters above sea level). Coffee produced at this altitude has excellent quality, possessing all the characteristics of specialty coffee SHB (Strictly Hard Bean) listed in international markets. The coffee is cupped by local and international experts and is characterized by its unique aroma, flavor, and body. The cup profile shows chocolate notes with medium to high acidity and a pleasant aftertaste. Environmentally friendly agricultural practices are applied, such as organic products, with no use of pesticides, tree cutting, or hunting allowed. In addition, the farm preserves certain areas as forest reserves, which have crystalline drinking water sources that supply cooperative families and the ecological processing plant.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommends Brewing:

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 3.5

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, 15g coffee grounds. First pour 25g water for a 25s bloom. Second pour to 120g water, then pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g total water. Extraction time approximately 2:00.

Analysis: Using a three-stage brewing method clearly defines the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains quickly, pausing the water flow can extend extraction time.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Geisha is the variety that made Panama famous, and FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Esmeralda Red Label Geisha is the clearest expression of it. Grown at 1600-1800 meters, each lot must cup above 90 points and comes from a single plot with its own number, so buyers can select by subtle flavor preference. The Green Label Geisha, or Private Collection, blends several plots to capture the estate's signature high-altitude Geisha character at a friendlier price.

For a Geisha grown at the variety's birthplace, FrontStreet Coffee also offers the Geisha Village Gold Label, a Geisha 1931 lot, and the Geisha Village Red Label, a Gori Gesha lot scoring 88 or above on the SCA scale with full traceability down to farm block and processing date. All of them share the elegant floral aromatics, citrus, and creamy, tea-like finish that make Geisha so distinctive, and all suit the gentle V60 method above.