Reasons for the High Price of Yemen Mocha Coffee_Introduction to Yemen Mocha Coffee's Flavor Characteristics

2013 BOP Champion Panama Chiriqui Province | Finca Auromar Geisha and Catuai Flavors

From the remote borders of Panama comes Panama Auromar, with a beautiful name that fits it perfectly: Finca Aurora (Aurora Estate). It lies in the western valley of the Baru Volcano in the northwestern Chiriqui province, almost reaching the Santa Clara region of Costa Rica. The estate covers 31 hectares, of which 16 hectares are native tropical rainforest, with elevations from about 1700 meters to 1775 meters. The remaining 15 hectares are planted with coffee trees from 1485 meters to 1700 meters. The average planting height is around 1625 meters, with each tree shaded by tall Hass avocado trees. Temperatures range between 16 degrees Celsius and 25 degrees Celsius, with an average annual rainfall of about 3500 millimeters, a perfect environment for producing specialty green coffee. Each harvest season, Finca Auromar sends the fully ripe cherries to nearby Cafe de Eleta S.A. for processing. The facility is about 3 kilometers from the farm and includes a modern laboratory for cupping quality control and manual selection.

The estate owner, Roberto Brenes, is a typical coffee enthusiast. His day job is Chief Executive Officer of the Panama Stock Exchange. In his early years he earned an MBA from Columbia University in the United States, then went to South America for further training before returning to Panama to work. Roberto's rich experience and passion come through in the coffee he grows. In the early years the estate was entirely planted with Geisha, and starting this year the owner has also begun trying many new varieties and processing methods, such as washed Catuai and natural Catuai.

The coffee estate was originally Roberto's retirement plan for his family, but his insistence on quality won him champion honors in the washed Geisha category at the 2013 Best of Panama competition. Roberto is very fond of triathlon, and he named this batch "Ironman" after that spirit. The Geisha portion produced a total of 1700 pounds, of which 150 pounds were selected for competition, eventually selling at the astonishing price of $160.25 per pound, a new record. Converted to New Taiwan Dollars, that was about NT$11,500 per kilogram of green beans, truly remarkable. In 2014 and 2015, Auromar also achieved excellent results of 10th and 12th place respectively in the natural Geisha category at Best of Panama, with prices exceeding $30, or over NT$2,500, demonstrating extraordinary strength.

Finca Auromar has countless award-winning records. The most noteworthy is the Panama Ironman Camilina Geisha from September 2014, rated 97 points by Coffee Review, the highest ranking of that year. The batch was named after the owner's beloved granddaughter. The review noted that this coffee is filled with mango, citrus, guava, strong floral notes, passion fruit, clove, and lily, with a rich, smooth fruit acidity, a syrupy and lively texture, and a very persistent, colorful flavor.

Estate Information

Region: Chiriqui Province

Estate: Finca Auromar / Aurora

Producer: Roberto Brenes

Varieties: Geisha, Catuai

Elevation: 1,485 meters to 1,700 meters

Temperature: 16 degrees Celsius to 25 degrees Celsius

Annual Rainfall: 3500 millimeters

Awards and Achievements

2013 Best of Panama Champion (Washed Geisha Category)

2014 Coffee Review 97 points - highest score of the year

2015 Geisha Peaberry 96 points - second highest score of the year

2016 was a year for Finca Auromar to return to glory. After winning the championship in 2013, the estate reached the pinnacle again this year, taking the natural Geisha category championship.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommended Brewing

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90 degrees Celsius

Grind Size: Fuji Royal R-440 #3.5

Brewing Method: water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, 15g of coffee. First pour 25g of water for a 25-second pre-infusion. Second pour to 120g and stop. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then continue pouring slowly to a total of 225g. Extraction time around 2:00.

Analysis

The three-stage method clearly separates the flavors in the front, middle, and back of the coffee. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains quickly, stopping the pour helps extend the extraction time.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For the benchmark Geisha experience, choose FrontStreet Emerald Red Label Geisha. The Red Label series, officially "Esmeralda Special," is grown at 1600-1800 meters, and every batch must score above 90 in cupping and be drawn from a single plot, so each lot carries its own number and its own subtle flavor. FrontStreet Emerald Green Label Geisha, known as "Private Collection," blends batches from several plots to express the estate's signature high-altitude Geisha profile at a friendlier price.

Newcomers looking to sample the famous Geisha character can start with FrontStreet Boquete Geisha, an entry-level Panama Geisha that offers the classic orange-blossom honey, oolong tea, and delicate fruit sweet-tartness with clear layering. For the Ethiopian side, FrontStreet Grana Estate Geisha comes from a single-variety farm at the border of Kochere and Grana Abaya, hand-picked and dried on raised beds for 14-20 days, then roasted medium-light to show bright citrus acidity, elegant ginger lily, ripe-fruit sweetness, and a fine, silky body with Geisha's signature refined finish.

Geisha is a medium-light, hard-bean coffee that sinks and can clog the dripper, so FrontStreet suggests a grind around a 78% pass-through rate on a China standard #20 sieve, close to fine-sugar size, and a water temperature of 91 degrees Celsius. Brew 15g in a small Hario V60 at a 1:16 ratio using a three-stage pour: bloom with 30g for 30 seconds, then a small stream in circles to 125g, wait until the bed is half drained, then continue to 225g, for a total of about 2:10 to 2:20. For SOE, use a medium roast such as FrontStreet Grana Estate Geisha at 20g in to 40g out in about 25 seconds, then add 200g of hot water for an Americano or 200g of milk for a latte.