Panama Boquete Chiriqui Province | Flavor Profile of Los Lajones Estate's Raised Bed Organic Natural Process

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Flavor Profile of Los Lajones Estate's Organic Raised Bed Natural Process Batch from Chiriquí Province, Panama

Los Lajones Estate is located on the eastern side of Barú Volcano, directly above the town of Boquete. Boquete is a small town situated at 1,200 meters above sea level in Chiriquí Province, Panama's westernmost region. The famous Caldera River flows slowly through the town's outskirts from Barú Volcano. The mild climate, fertile young volcanic soil, appropriate rainfall, and varied microclimates have earned the mountainous areas around Boquete the reputation of being a "coffee paradise."

Los Lajones Estate is a century-old small, excellent farm located in the Boquete growing region. The current owner, Graciano Cruz, is a farmer who genuinely loves coffee. The farm was the first to develop honey processing. The basic principle of honey processing involves harvesting only fully mature coffee cherries and measuring the sugar content of the beans. During the mature harvest period, at the end of each day's harvest, freshly picked cherries are immediately gathered, the skin and pulp are removed while fresh mucilage remains on the bean surface, then they are spread on outdoor elevated bamboo racks. Usually requiring 10-12 days of drying, the beans reach about 11% moisture content at the end of the drying stage, then the mucilage is mechanically removed with parchment paper wrapping and the beans are cleaned and bagged. Honey processing can truly solve the problem of huge capital investment required for building water processing plants and sun-drying facilities. Another advantage is that it allows remote small farms to eliminate the problem of fresh cherries fermenting during collection at processing centers, which causes bean quality decline. This can truly enable small-production, small-scale excellent farms to stand out.

Barú Volcano is not only Panama's highest mountain range, but the sedimentary material brought by early volcanic activity and eruptions has created large amounts of very fertile soil. These soils are rich in organic matter, and volcanic ash is particularly rich in phosphorus and sulfur. Mixed with clay, combined with unique climate patterns, this region has formed an environment suitable for growing high-quality coffee. Dense forests and numerous species create biodiversity. Los Lajones is located on the north side of old lava flows from the main Barú crater,正好 facing the highest blocks where Hacienda La Esmeralda grows Geisha. When I visited Los Lajones this year, I happened to encounter the second flowering period. The beautiful mountain scenery and fragrant floral aroma sometimes make me feel that the floral fragrance still lingers.

Panamanian coffee is widely used in both specialty and commercial roasting. What attracted direct trade coffee attention are some family-run small farms in the Chiriquí district's Boquete growing region. They truly produce distinctive coffee cherries. During each harvest season, farms hire local N'gbe Indians, and they are employed according to Central American labor laws at the most reasonable salary standards.

The legendary Los Lajones Estate organic natural process beans - when introducing himself, he said: "I grew up in the coffee plantation, and I will die in the coffee plantation." Graciano often proudly says: "I am not only the first estate in Panama to receive organic certification, but also the first coffee plantation to completely abandon washed processing."

He treats his coffee plantation as a 4D experience amusement park, crazily experimenting with various water-free processing methods. With missionary zeal, he promotes the advantages of non-water processing to coffee farmers from various countries in Central America, South America, and Africa, and even came to Taiwan to深入 into growing regions. In his leisure time, he takes his surfboard to the seaside for vacation. He is my good friend and a legendary figure in the specialty coffee industry - Graciano Cruz. Below is his portrait; he is very cheerful and often laughs heartily.

Few coffee farmers are as active as Graciano in various coffee occasions globally. He is passionate about promoting honey and natural processing and has many industry fans worldwide. Few coffee farmers are willing to travel extensively between countries to teach processing details and benefits, but this is Graciano! His two estates are famous because of his dedication. It should be said that not only is Graciano famous, but Los Lajones Estate is also famous for producing high-quality coffee.

He believes that traditional washed processing not only severely consumes water resources, is environmentally unfriendly, but also lacks the sweetness of honey processing. At Los Lajones Estate, only mature cherries are harvested. After fruit harvesting, not a single drop of water is used to remove the skin. The fruit is directly placed on African-style racks made of bamboo branches and woven nets for drying. This drying method is not only uniform and fast but also produces cleaner flavors with softer and richer acidity. The estate's good ventilation and ample sunlight are key factors contributing to the success of its honey and natural processing methods.

Good natural process beans are challenging in terms of cultivating properly ripe coffee fruits and controlling sun-drying. The picture below shows the situation on the first day of coffee fruit harvesting. You can see that only properly ripe coffee cherries are selected. After three days, the color gradually deepens, the fruits shrink, and changes like dehydration and fruit fermentation gradually occur with temperature, humidity, and turning frequency. All these factors affect the final flavor.

Multiple Sweet Sensations

Rich and sweet without over-ripe fruit acidity, with varied, complex, and elegant flavors

Origin Information

Region: Chiriquí

Town: Boquete

Location: Eastern slope of Barú Volcano

Altitude: 1750 – 2150 meters

Rainfall: Annual average 3500 mm

Average Temperature: 21°C

Soil Type: Volcanic clay

Cultivars: Geisha, Pacamara, Typica, Catuai, Caturra

Estate Area: 160 hectares (35 hectares planted with coffee)

Organic Certification: Organic cert. by Bio Latina

Recent Awards: 2014 BOP Honey Processing Winner, 2013 Best of Panama Natural Geisha Second Place, Honey Processing Fourth Place

Processing Details

Processing Method: Natural processing, African raised beds

Harvest Period: January—April

Flowering Period: April—June

Cupping Notes

Dry Aroma: Caramel, sweet pineapple, chocolate, sweet spices

Wet Aroma: Caramel, honey, sweet fruit, wild berries, floral

Taste: Very sweet, spicy, rich in oils, honeydew melon, spiced chocolate, ripe sweet grapes, rich texture, sweet and persistent aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommended 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, bloom for 25s. Second pour to 120g water, pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then continue pouring slowly to 225g total water. Extraction time approximately 2:00.

Analysis: Using three-stage brewing to clearly distinguish the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. Because V60 has many ribs and fast drainage, pausing during pouring can extend extraction.

Important Notice :

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