Panama La Berlina Typica Natural Process Pour-Over Coffee Brewing Guide_Estate Information Introduction

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Panama Coffee Estate - La Berlina Estate Information Introduction

La Berlina Estate Coffee Farm was established by Diaz, who was originally a soldier from Colombia sent to Panama in the early 20th century to suppress the rise of separatism. When Panama gained independence, these soldiers, including Diaz, had two choices: return to Colombia or stay in Panama. Diaz fell in love with Boquete and also fell for a local girl, choosing to stay and start a coffee-growing livelihood.

On the mountains outside Boquete, the Diaz family discovered many wild Typica coffee trees - the "purebred" Arabica coffee - and thus built an 80-acre farm here. However, most of the coffee was completely wild, scattered in the rainforest's rich volcanic soil, because raccoons would eat coffee cherries from coffee farms below the mountain and scatter the seeds when returning to high-altitude areas. By the 1920s, the family had established a "perfect, sustainable farm" to sustain their livelihood - a small-scale sugarcane mill powered by waterwheels, corn fields, chickens, and pigs.

Initially, the children were the official coffee pickers, with neighbors and some Ngöbe Indians who came to work on surrounding farms during the coffee harvest providing assistance. During the harvest season, the entire family worked nearly 7 days, 24 hours a day picking cherries, then taking them to a waterwheel-powered mill to remove the coffee pulp and mucilage (natural sugar coating). During this time, coffee was stored in a special attic to utilize the dry roof and warm rising air for ventilation. For the family, coffee was often used as a form of trade currency to obtain "luxuries" such as new shoes for the family or even education for the children. One year, a teenage son chiseled a hole in the attic ceiling, took several pounds of coffee, and used it as money to take his girlfriend on a date.

By the early 1930s, La Berlina Estate's coffee farm was producing a recognized high-quality coffee; however, as time passed, the self-sufficient farm could not produce enough agricultural products to feed the growing family, which now included more children and several new members. As the years went by and coffee prices remained depressed, Diaz's son Don Manuel was forced to sell the farm - the only way of life he knew.

La Berlina Estate is now operated by the Ruiz family and continues to promote the cultivation of heirloom coffee varieties in Boquete. The family's fourth generation is continuously learning how to grow and process coffee, not only by using existing technology but also by learning from past experiences, with the goal of bringing delicious coffee from La Berlina Estate to the world.

At the beginning of the new century, professional producers faced new challenges. It was during these years that in 2004, Geisha was discovered at the famous Finca Esmeralda in Nicaragua.

Just in 2005, Price Peterson sold 5 pounds of Geisha Esmeralda to Plinio Ruiz, who carefully cultivated and developed a nursery with these seeds. By early 2006, about 3,500 plants were ready for planting in mid-2006. The best coffee seedlings in the farm were established in rows alongside ancient Typica coffee trees to achieve great success. The plantation was expanded in 2008, and by 2010, the first 5 pounds of Geisha were harvested from Berlin. What was truly surprising was in 2011, when the farm harvested 250 pounds, with a portion winning Panama's Best Harvest that year!

Coffee Details

Product Name: Panama Coffee La Berlina Estate Typica Natural

Panama La Berlina Typical Natural

Estate: La Berlina Estate

Harvest Year: 2013/2014

Variety: Typica

Processing Method: Natural

Altitude: 1920 M

Region: Berlina, Boquete

Estate Owner: Casa Ruiz

Roast Level: Light Roast

Flavor Description: Strawberry, whiskey flavor, stone fruit, dark cocoa

How to Brew Panama Coffee [La Berlina Typica Natural] Perfectly?

FrontStreet Coffee Pour-over Reference:

Measure 15g of [La Berlina Typica Natural] coffee powder, pour into a grinder for medium grinding. The ground particles should be slightly coarser than table salt. We use BG grinder setting 5R (standard sieve pass rate 60%), water temperature 90°C, and extract with a V60 dripper.

The hot water in the pour-over kettle should draw circles clockwise around the center of the dripper. Start timing when brewing begins. Within 15 seconds, brew the coffee to 30g, then stop pouring water. When the time reaches 1 minute, pour water for the second time. The second pouring should be the same as before, drawing circles clockwise around the center of the dripper. The water stream should not hit where the coffee powder meets the filter paper to avoid channel effects.

Leave one circle when brewing the coffee powder to the outermost circle, then draw circles back toward the center. At 2 minutes and 20 seconds, brew the coffee to 220g. The coffee brewing is complete.

Ice Extraction [La Berlina Typica Natural]

FrontStreet Coffee Ice Extraction [La Berlina Typica Natural] Reference:

Panama Coffee [La Berlina Typica Natural], light to medium roast, BG grinder setting 4B, grinding level 3, 20g beans, water temperature 87°C, pre-infusion for 3 minutes, Chemex pot, then extract with ice water, total water volume 200ml.

Important Notice :

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