Diamond Mountain Coffee Bean Varieties Panama Emerald Estate Coffee Bean Grades and Flavor Characteristics

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In addition to grading the Geisha variety, Hacienda La Esmeralda also divides the Caturra and Catuai varieties grown in the estate into two brands: Diamond Mountain and Palmyra. FrontStreet Coffee's article today introduces the Diamond Mountain series natural processed Caturra coffee beans, exploring the differences between Hacienda La Esmeralda's Caturra Catuai and Geisha coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda - Natural Diamond Mountain Coffee Beans

Coffee Region: Boquete

Coffee Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda

Growing Altitude: 1400-1700m

Coffee Varieties: Catuai, Caturra

Processing Method: Natural Process

Hacienda La Esmeralda

Hacienda La Esmeralda's reputation in the specialty coffee world is truly remarkable. Established in 1964, it has over fifty years of history. In 2004, Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha coffee beans made a sensational debut at the BOP competition, thereby establishing the estate's position in the specialty coffee industry.

Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha coffee was somewhat of an "accident." Originally, because Geisha coffee trees were tall and sparse with low yields, the estate owner used them as windbreaks to shield the high-yielding Caturra and Catuai coffee areas from strong winds. However, during harvesting, a faint captivating floral aroma was detected. The owner then traced the source and found Geisha coffee trees thriving in the windy, low-temperature conditions where ordinary coffee trees couldn't survive, emitting floral and citrus aromas. Thus, in 2004, Hacienda La Esmeralda separately entered Geisha in the competition, where it made a sensational debut at the BOP, establishing the estate's position in the specialty coffee world.

Caturra & Catuai Varieties

As FrontStreet Coffee just mentioned, Hacienda La Esmeralda initially introduced and mainly cultivated Caturra and Catuai varieties. Caturra is a Bourbon variant discovered in Brazil in 1937. It has better production capacity and disease resistance than Bourbon, with shorter plants that facilitate harvesting. It's highly adaptable, doesn't require shade trees, and is suitable for cultivation from low altitudes of 700 meters to high altitudes of 1700 meters. While highly adaptable to altitude, higher elevations produce better flavors but relatively lower yields.

Catuai, a coffee variety artificially hybridized in 1949 from yellow Caturra and Mundo Novo, was originally called "H-2077." Catuai has good disaster resistance capabilities, particularly against wind and rain. Due to its smaller plant size, it can be planted at double density, and the relatively short plants make pest and disease treatment easier. Catuai grows robustly and has low height but is susceptible to leaf rust disease.

Diamond Mountain Series

Diamond Mountain comes from two of Hacienda La Esmeralda's highest-yielding and most famous farms: Jaramillo and Canas Verdes. The overall coffee cultivation is distributed at altitudes of 1400-1700 meters. Diamond Mountain brand coffee is environmentally friendly (Eco-friendly) and Rainforest Alliance Certified.

Canas Verdes has an annual rainfall of 3500ml, with average daytime temperatures between 16-23°C and nighttime temperatures between 10-15°C, at an average altitude of 1600-1800m. Canas includes 9 small plots: Lino, Coronado, Fundador, Leon, Montaa, Trapiche, Chinta, Cabaa, and Tumaco.

Jaramillo has an annual rainfall of 4000ml, with average daytime temperatures between 19-25°C and nighttime temperatures between 11-15°C, at an average altitude of 1600-1700m. The Jaramillo plot is subdivided into 5 small plots: Mario, Noria, Reina, Bosque, and Buenos Aires.

Rainforest Alliance Certified: Farms that meet the standards established by the "Rainforest Alliance" receive this certification. The alliance protects the farm and its surrounding ecosystem, restricts pesticide use, and evaluates waste management benchmarks. Only coffee that passes evaluation and certification can be called "Rainforest Alliance Certified Coffee." Because the environmental impact during coffee cultivation is low, the Panamanian government has also awarded the environmentally friendly (Eco-friendly) ecological label to Diamond Mountain series coffee beans.

Natural Process

This Diamond Mountain coffee bean that FrontStreet Coffee acquired uses the natural processing method. In the natural processing method, harvested coffee cherries are sent directly to patios for drying. The coffee cherries gradually dry while the coffee beans remain inside, filling with fruity and aromatic notes. Depending on weather and patio composition, coffee cherries are dried on concrete patios for 3 to 5 days (8 hours daily). When the cherries are dried to a certain degree, they are placed in a Guardiola dryer for 72 hours of rotation to complete the drying process and prevent fermentation. After drying is complete, the coffee cherries are mechanically removed of their pulp and fruit parts.

FrontStreet Coffee Green Bean Analysis

Through observation of Diamond Mountain natural processed green beans, FrontStreet Coffee notes that the green beans have a yellowish color, and natural processed beans typically have more silver skin on the surface. Caturra green beans have a curved tip, being round and slender, while Catuai beans are flatter with a more slender tip.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Record

FrontStreet Coffee's barista used a Yangjia 800N semi-direct flame roaster, with a batch size of 480g. The roaster was preheated to 165°C before loading, with heat adjusted to 130 and damper opened to 3. The turning point was at 1'36", maintaining heat. At 112°C, heat remained unchanged while damper opened to 4. At 127°C, heat increased to 140. At 6'15", beans turned yellow, grassy aroma disappeared, entering dehydration stage. At 151°C, heat was reduced to 110, damper remained at 4.

At 9'00", dehydration was complete, with wrinkles and dark spots appearing on the bean surface, and toast aroma transitioning to coffee aroma - the prelude to first crack. At this point, one must listen carefully for the first crack sound. At 10'48", first crack began, damper fully opened to 5. Development time after first crack was 1'20", finishing at 191°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Report

Dry Aroma: Citrus, berries

Wet Aroma: Citrus

Flavor: Citrus, honey, cocoa, fermented wine aroma

Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee learned that this Diamond Mountain natural processed coffee bean offers different layered experiences. FrontStreet Coffee decided to use a V60 dripper for brewing.

Why Does FrontStreet Coffee Recommend Using a V60 Dripper?

The 60-degree conical design is the source of the "60" in V60's name. This 60-degree design allows water flow to the center, extending contact time between water and coffee. The large aperture filter hole at the bottom of the dripper allows control of coffee flavor by changing water flow rate. The spiral-shaped grooves allow air to escape upward from all sides, maximizing the expansion of coffee grounds.

The spiral ribbed groove design also creates compression from the falling water flow, extending the extraction path and increasing contact time between coffee grounds and water, avoiding under-extraction caused by the large hole (too fast filtration speed). Compared to linear water flow paths (such as Kono drippers), the water path is obviously much longer. The spiral ribs not only extend the contact time between coffee grounds and water but also allow the water level to drop while the water flows along the spiral ribs toward the center point of the dripper, creating compression on the coffee grounds through the gravity of falling water flow to form higher complexity.

FrontStreet Coffee Diamond Mountain Natural Process Coffee Bean Brewing Parameter Recommendations

Dripper: V60#01

Water Temperature: 90-91°C

Dose: 15g

Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: Medium-fine grind (80% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Method: Three-stage extraction. Use 30g of water for bloom for 30 seconds. With small water flow, pour in circles to 125g for segmentation. When the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When the water level is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from bloom) Extraction time is 2'00".

Brewing Flavor: Citrus, bright acidity, nuts, honey, slight fermentation, smooth mouthfeel, cocoa aftertaste.

Important Notice :

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