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

Besides grading the Geisha variety, Hacienda La Esmeralda also divides the Caturra and Catuai varieties grown on 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 and Catuai and its Geisha.

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 more than fifty years of history. In 2004, its Geisha coffee made a sensational debut at the BOP competition, establishing the estate's position in the specialty coffee industry.

Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha was, in a sense, an "accident." Originally, because Geisha trees were tall and sparse with low yields, the estate owner used them as windbreaks to shield the high-yielding Caturra and Catuai areas from strong winds. During harvesting, however, a faint, captivating floral aroma was detected. The owner traced the source and found Geisha trees thriving in the windy, low-temperature conditions where ordinary coffee trees could not survive, giving off floral and citrus aromas. So in 2004, Hacienda La Esmeralda entered Geisha separately in the competition, where it made its sensational BOP debut and established 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. Caturra is a Bourbon variant discovered in Brazil in 1937. It has better production capacity and disease resistance than Bourbon, with a shorter plant that is easier to harvest. It is highly adaptable, does not require shade trees, and suits cultivation from low altitudes of 700 meters up to high altitudes of 1700 meters. While adaptable to altitude, higher elevations give better flavor but relatively lower yields.

Catuai, a variety artificially hybridized in 1949 from yellow Caturra and Mundo Novo, was originally called "H-2077." Catuai has good disaster resistance, particularly against wind and rain. Because of 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 with low height, but it is susceptible to leaf rust.

Diamond Mountain Series

Diamond Mountain comes from two of Hacienda La Esmeralda's highest-yielding and most famous farms: Jaramillo and Canas Verdes. The coffee is cultivated 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 3500 ml, 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 4000 ml, 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 set 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 of 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 natural processing, harvested coffee cherries are sent directly to patios for drying. The cherries gradually dry while the beans remain inside, filling with fruity and aromatic notes. Depending on weather and patio composition, cherries are dried on concrete patios for 3 to 5 days (8 hours daily). Once they 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, the cherries are mechanically stripped of their pulp and fruit.

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

At 9'00", dehydration was complete, with wrinkles and dark spots appearing on the bean surface and the toast aroma transitioning to coffee aroma - the prelude to first crack. Listen carefully for the first crack sound. At 10'48", first crack began, and the damper was 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 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 the V60's name. This 60-degree design directs the water flow toward the center, extending contact time between water and coffee. The large aperture at the bottom of the dripper lets you control flavor by changing the flow rate. The spiral-shaped grooves allow air to escape upward from all sides, maximizing the expansion of the coffee grounds.

The spiral ribbed groove design also creates compression from the falling water flow, extending the extraction path and increasing contact time between grounds and water, which avoids the under-extraction that a large hole (too fast a filtration speed) could cause. Compared with linear water-flow paths such as Kono drippers, the water path is obviously much longer. The spiral ribs not only extend contact time but also let the water level drop while water flows along the ribs toward the center of the dripper, creating compression on the coffee bed through the gravity of the falling 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 (80% pass-through rate on a China standard #20 sieve)

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

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

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

The Diamond Mountain series shows that Hacienda La Esmeralda is about more than Geisha. If you want to try the estate's top Geisha, FrontStreet Emerald Red Label Geisha, officially "Esmeralda Special," is grown at 1,600-1,800 meters, and every lot must cup above 90 points and comes from a single small plot such as Jaramillo. FrontStreet Emerald Green Label Geisha, or "Private Collection," blends several plots to express the estate's signature high-altitude Geisha character at a more accessible price.

For a different angle on Panamanian coffee, FrontStreet Panama Washed Butterfly combines Geisha with Caturra and Catuai, grown on the volcanic slopes of Baru near Boquete. Ample rainfall, large day-night temperature swings and the area's volcanic rock soil give this coffee an outstanding balance of body, citrus acidity and Geisha's jasmine florals - well suited to both pour-over and cold brew.