How Many Times Can You Brew Panama Don Pachi Estate Natural Catuai? Recommended Pour-Over Ratios

BOP Best of Panama Winning Estate: Elida Estate Don Pachi Estate African Bed Natural Catuai Micro-lot Specialty Coffee

Origin: Baru, Boquete, Panama

Processing Mill: Elida Estate

Altitude: 1,700 - 1,800 M

Variety: Catuai

Processing Method: African Drying Bed Natural

Harvest Year: 2017 / 2018

Roast Level: Light - Medium

Flavor Notes: Red Wine • Preserved Fruit Sweetness • Tropical Fruits

As the sister brand to Elida Estate, Don Pachi Estate is also managed and run by the Lamastus family. Compared with the celebrated Elida, Don Pachi's smaller production makes it feel more mysterious. It lies in Panama's Boquete growing region, on the southern side of the Baru Volcano National Park area, which lets it keep a pristine ecological environment. Baru Volcano is one of the highest volcanoes in Central America, and the changes in altitude give the whole volcanic region seven or more distinct microclimates.

Don Pachi Estate grows mainly Geisha and Catuai, with the coffee areas at around 1,800 meters, among the highest in Panama. Those geographical conditions give the trees an exceptional high-altitude environment with large day-night temperature swings. The growing area stays consistently cool, with fertile soil rich in organic matter, and even in the dry season clouds and mist linger while old-growth forest provides shade. As a result the maturation cycle of the cherries can stretch by roughly a month, letting sweetness develop more fully. The outcome is distinctive flavour, a long-lasting aftertaste and a clean mouthfeel that leaves a deep impression.

In recent years Don Pachi Estate has done remarkably well in the BOP Best of Panama competition and risen to prominence. In 2016, at the Japan Barista Championship, barista Suzuki Kiuki of Maruyama Coffee won the title using Don Pachi Estate's washed Geisha.

This batch of Catuai was processed with the African raised-bed natural drying method. Under a light-medium roast it shows a clean, elegant red wine aroma, preserved-fruit sweetness and tropical fruit flavours.

How to Brew Panama Don Pachi Estate Natural Catuai Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee Pour-over Reference:

Weigh 15g of Don Pachi Estate Natural Catuai coffee and grind it medium-coarse. The particles should be slightly coarser than table salt. We use BG grinder setting 5R (60% standard sieve pass rate), a water temperature of 90°C and a V60 dripper.

Pour hot water from the kettle in clockwise circles centred on the middle of the dripper. Start the timer as you begin. Within 15 seconds, brew to 30g, then stop pouring. When the clock reaches 1 minute, begin the second pour, again in clockwise circles centred on the middle. Avoid pouring onto the seam where the coffee bed meets the filter paper, to prevent channelling.

Leave one circle when you reach the outermost layer of coffee, then keep pouring in circles toward the centre. At 2 minutes and 20 seconds, pour to 220g. The brew is complete.

Cold Brew Don Pachi Estate Natural Catuai

FrontStreet Coffee Cold Brew Don Pachi Estate Natural Catuai Reference:

Panama Don Pachi Estate Natural Catuai, light-medium roast, BG grinder setting 4B (grind level 3), 20g of beans, 88°C water temperature for a 3-minute bloom in a Chemex, then cold brew with ice water, total water volume 200ml.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

What makes this lot special is Boquete itself, so if you want the region's signature character without hunting a micro-lot, FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Boquete Geisha is the natural entry point. It is an introductory Geisha from Panama that lets you taste the classic orange-blossom honey of a high-quality Panamanian Geisha at a friendly price, with an oolong-tea quality, delicate fruit sweetness and acidity, and clearly separated layers. Panama is where Geisha made its name: its altitude, microclimate and soil shape a deeply appealing cup, and in 2003 the variety was discovered by the owner of Esmeralda Estate and entered in the Best of Panama competition, where it stunned the judges, set a record with an average cupping score of 94.6 and took first place, turning Geisha almost overnight into the champion variety the whole world wanted.

For a higher grade, FrontStreet Coffee carries Esmeralda Estate's Red Label and Green Label Geisha. The red label, officially "Esmeralda Special," grows at 1,600-1,800 meters, and every batch must cup above 90 points and carries its own number, with each batch drawn from a single small plot, so buyers can pick the lot that matches their taste. The green label, originally "Private Collection," is named for its green tag; unlike the red label it does not stress detailed plot information but blends batches from several plots to express Esmeralda's signature high-altitude Geisha character, and its friendlier price makes it strong value.

Geisha is a floral, fruit-forward variety at medium-light roast and tends to be dense, so it can sink and clog the dripper hole when brewed. FrontStreet suggests grinding to a coarseness that passes 78% through the Chinese standard No. 20 sieve, roughly fine sugar, and brewing at 91°C. FrontStreet's own pour-over uses 15g of coffee, a small Hario V60 and a 1:16 coffee-to-water ratio: start the timer and pour to 30g for a 30-second bloom, then a second stage of slow circling pours to 125g, wait until the water in the bed drops halfway before pouring again, continue slow circling pours to 225g, and let it finish dripping for a total extraction of about 2 minutes 10 seconds to 2 minutes 20 seconds.