Panama Coffee Introduction to Panama Eleta Estate Panama Eleta Estate Washed Coffee

Panama MC Santa Clara Eleta SHB Washed

Panama Eleta Estate Washed

Country: Panama

Grade: SHB

Region: Santa Clara

Altitude: Average 1600 meters

Processing Method: Washed

FrontStreet Coffee's pour-over recipe for Panama Eleta: 15g coffee, medium grind, V60 dripper, 88-89°C water temperature. First pour 30g water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level drops to halfway, then continue slow pouring until reaching 225g total. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

The Eleta Estate (Café de Eleta) sits in the Santa Clara region, a small area just one kilometer from the Costa Rica border and near La Amistad International Park, a major primary-forest reserve that forms part of the Central American ecological habitat. The estate began acquiring land in the 1970s, covering approximately 130 hectares. It initially focused on vegetable cultivation and livestock, and started growing coffee in 1995 under the name Café de Eleta S.A. The estate kept expanding and today covers 420 hectares, making it one of Panama's large-scale coffee plantations and one of the country's most renowned coffees. Thanks to abundant water, the estate runs a private 530KW hydroelectric plant that supplies its own electricity needs and sells the surplus to Distribución de Electricidad Chiriquí S.A. for grid connection.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Panama is one of Central America's signature specialty origins, with its coffee regions concentrated in the west—Boquete, Volcán, Santa Clara, and Piedra de Candela—where fertile volcanic soil and old forests sit at the heart of the coffee belt. Boquete and Volcán are the two most famous specialty areas. If you are tasting Panama coffee for the first time, FrontStreet recommends the Boquete Gesha, an estate-level entry Gesha planted at 1,600 meters on nutrient-rich volcanic-ash soil; brewed, it delivers Geisha's signature jasmine, green tea, honey, citrus, and orange notes.

For a wider expression, FrontStreet's Panama Washed Butterfly (Huadie) has half of Geisha's fine pedigree, a blend of Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai grown in the Barú volcano area of Boquete. The region's distinct microclimate brings plentiful rainfall and a large day-night temperature swing, and together with volcanic-rock soil and careful harvesting and processing, the coffee performs beautifully in body, citrus acidity, and Geisha jasmine aroma. It is well suited to both pour-over and cold brew.

To reach the top tier, FrontStreet's Esmeralda Red Label Gesha is harvested from single-plot Gesha above 1,700 meters and must cup at 91 points or above, offering a refined orange-blossom-honey sweetness. For a non-Gesha option from the same estate family, FrontStreet's Diamond Mountain comes from Esmeralda's star brand, mainly Caturra and Catuai grown on the Jaramillo and Cañas Verdes farms, where volcanic soil and shade from primary forest give the beans rich fruit aroma and sweetness.