Panama Aurora Estate Ironman Geisha Three-Pour Hand Brew Tutorial | Hand Brew Geisha Coffee Techniques

Introduction to Aurora Estate's Camilina Geisha Coffee

Recently, FrontStreet Coffee acquired a coffee bean that offers a perfect balance between the Hacienda La Esmeralda Natural Red Geisha and the Hacienda La Esmeralda Washed Green Geisha in terms of price and flavor profile. Although it's not a Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda, its flavor is truly captivating! The coffee exhibits smooth fruit acidity and rich layers, much like a coloratura soprano singing in an opera house, with the aroma lingering persistently in the palate.

This batch of coffee beans comes from the Camilina Geisha coffee beans of Aurora Estate in Panama. True to the estate's name, the Geisha coffee beans produced here have flavors that float as lightly as the aurora borealis, with incredibly rich layers.

Aurora Estate: Perfect Growing Conditions

Aurora Estate is located in the western valley of Barú Volcano (Volcán Barú) in Chiriquí Province, northwestern Panama. The estate covers 31 hectares, with 16 hectares of native tropical rainforest at elevations ranging from 1700 to 1775 meters. The remaining 15 hectares are planted with coffee trees at elevations between 1485 and 1700 meters, with an average planting height of 1625 meters. Each coffee tree is shaded by tall Hass avocado trees, which protect the coffee trees from harsh sunlight and help regulate temperature. This keeps the temperature range between 16°C and 25°C. Additionally, the region receives an average annual rainfall of about 3500 millimeters, creating the ideal environment for producing premium specialty coffee beans.

Post-Harvest Processing and Quality Control

During each harvest season, Aurora Estate sends its fully ripe coffee cherries to the nearby Café de Eleta S.A. for post-harvest processing. The processing facility is located about 3 kilometers from the farm and includes a modern laboratory for cupping quality control and manual sorting.

The estate owner, Roberto Brenes, is a typical coffee enthusiast. His actual position is Chief Executive Officer of the Panama Stock Exchange. He earned his MBA from Columbia University in the United States, returned to Panama, then gained experience in South America, and eventually came back to work in Panama. Roberto's rich experience and passion are reflected in the coffee he grows. Initially, the estate exclusively grew Geisha coffee varieties, but later the owner began experimenting with many different new tree varieties and processing methods, introducing both washed Caturra and natural Catuaí coffee beans.

From Retirement Plan to Championship Glory

Running a coffee estate was originally Roberto's retirement plan, but due to his insistence on coffee quality, his Geisha coffee variety won first place in the washed Geisha category at Best of Panama 2013. After winning the championship, the owner named this championship washed Geisha "Ironman" after his favorite triathlon sport. Subsequently, all washed Geisha coffee beans produced by the estate would be named Ironman Geisha coffee beans. The 2013 batch of Ironman Geisha coffee beans yielded a total of 1700 pounds, of which 150 pounds were selected for competition. The final auction price reached an astonishing $160.25 per pound, setting a new record high, equivalent to approximately 2,574 RMB per kilogram of green beans.

Camilina: Rising Star in Natural Processing

In 2014 and 2015, the estate's natural Geisha coffee beans also achieved remarkable success, winning 10th and 12th place respectively in the natural Geisha category at Best of Panama, with auction prices exceeding $30 per pound (over 2,500 Taiwan dollars), demonstrating their extraordinary quality. To better distinguish the 2014 natural Geisha from the 2013 washed Geisha, the owner named the natural Geisha "Camilina" after his granddaughter. Subsequently, all natural processed Geisha coffee beans produced by the estate would be named Camilina Geisha coffee beans. The 2014 batch of Camilina Geisha coffee was rated 97 points by Coffee Review, ranking first among that year's ratings. The flavor notes described this coffee as filled with mango, citrus, guava, intense floral notes, passion fruit, clove, lily, rich and smooth fruit acidity, with a syrupy and lively mouthfeel, and exceptionally persistent complex flavors.

Brewing Recommendations for Camilina Geisha

To better express the enticing fruit acidity and rich layers of Aurora Estate's Camilina Geisha coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee's roasters adopted a medium-light roast level, striving to allow the charming acidity and aroma to perform at their best. Since these Geisha coffee beans grow in high-altitude regions, their bean density is quite high. Light roasting hasn't changed their inherent density much. Compared to medium and dark roasted coffee beans, light roasted coffee beans' flavor compounds are not easily extracted, therefore requiring higher water temperatures for brewing.

FrontStreet Coffee pour-over reference: 15g of coffee grounds, 1:16 coffee-to-water ratio, grind size similar to fine sugar (medium-fine/78% pass-through rate with China No. 20 standard sieve), water temperature 90-91°C, V60 dripper.

Using a three-stage circular pouring technique: First, use 30g of water to fully saturate the coffee bed into a "hamburger" shape and bloom for 30 seconds, then proceed to the second stage. FrontStreet Coffee used a steady medium-fine water flow for circular pouring in the second stage, injecting water to 125g when the timer reached 55 seconds, then stopping to wait for the water level to drop to 2/3 of the coffee bed before starting the third stage. FrontStreet Coffee continued with the same technique until 1 minute 55 seconds.

Flavor Profile of Aurora Estate Natural Camilina Geisha

Aurora Estate natural processed Camilina Geisha coffee flavor characteristics: Distinct white flower notes, passion fruit, apricot, citrus, and oolong tea.

For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

For professional coffee knowledge exchange, please add WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473