Panama Hartmann Estate Coffee | Introduction to Panama Hartmann Estate Wine Processing

FrontStreet Coffee - Panama Hartmann Estate Black Winey Processing

Panama Hartmann Black Winey

Country: Panama

Grade: SHG

Region: Volcán Region

Altitude: 1250-1700 meters

Processing Method: Black Winey

Variety: Catuai

Estate: Hartmann Estate

01 | Region Introduction

One of the most important reasons for Panama's distinctive coffee quality is its microclimate. Panama borders Costa Rica and Colombia, and its east-to-west layout lets cold air currents flow through the central mountain range and converge above 6,500 feet, creating a very unusual microclimate in the Boquete and Volcán Candela regions - which makes them Panama's main coffee-producing areas. The land around them is nutrient-rich, and these fertile soils give coffee perfect growing conditions, shaping a great many unique, high-quality coffees.

Volcán Region

When people discuss Panama's coffee traditions, they are usually more familiar with the specialty regions around Boquete, but in recent years coffee from the Volcán region has gradually emerged on the specialty market - and quite a few estates have even entered the Best of Panama competition and taken the title. The Volcán region generally receives less annual rainfall than Boquete, and its position on the west side of Barú Volcano gives its coffee more intense dried-fruit flavors, sweetness, and aroma than the Boquete region.

In the early days, the Volcán area mostly grew cash crops such as fruit and vegetables, with very few farmers cultivating coffee. Among the coffee pioneers in the Volcán region was Panama's well-known Hartmann family.

Hartmann Estate

At least two published books focus on Hartmann Estate's bird-friendly, shade-grown cultivation, and more than ten papers have appeared in scientific journals. Their reputation, then, reaches not only across the coffee industry but also far into the scientific community for their environmental work.

Today the estate is still run by the family's third generation. Mr. Ratibor Hartmann and his four siblings each take on different roles at the estate. They live together on the farm and make their living from growing coffee.

The Hartmann family also manages and processes coffee for many estates in Panama - among them Finca La Mula, a perennial Best of Panama winner, and a 90+ estate in Panama, both under Hartmann management. Although the estate keeps a low profile and rarely appears in Best of Panama competitions, its coffee ranks among the finest in Panama. The Hartmann family's contribution to Panama's coffee reputation today is undeniable.

02 | Processing Method

Black Winey processing - also known as carbon dioxide processing, or wine-like processing - draws its inspiration from winemaking. Black Winey can control pH values, and even temperature and humidity, to safeguard bean quality, while sealed fermentation keeps aromatic compounds from evaporating away.

Carbon dioxide maceration is a new method applied within Black Winey processing, in which the beans are stripped of pulp and skin and placed in stainless-steel containers filled with carbon dioxide gas to create an anaerobic state. The sealed fermentation tanks allow more aromatic compounds to develop.

Origin of Black Winey Processing

Traditional processing struggles to control the variable degree of fermentation in coffee beans. Black Winey processing, by contrast, can control pH values, and even temperature and humidity, to safeguard bean quality, while sealed fermentation keeps aromatic compounds from easily evaporating.

Coffee's Black Winey method, also called wine-like processing, takes its cue from winemaking. Eight estates in Colombia, for example, have successfully brought coffees processed this way to market. Based on data from those eight estates, Black Winey processing can be roughly grouped into three types: acetic fermentation (aerobic), lactic acid fermentation (anaerobic), and mixed fermentation (aerobic plus anaerobic).

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this kind of wine-inspired, fermentation-forward processing appeals to you, FrontStreet's Colombian coffees are a natural next step. Colombia's coffees are used across a wide range of styles - in espresso blends as well as single-origin pour-over - and they span fruity-acidic profiles, full, rounded ones, and aromatic types, so there is something for almost every taste.

FrontStreet's Colombia Huila is the go-to for anyone wanting to understand the origin. Huila, in the southern part of Colombia's central range, is the country's best-known specialty region: a land of hills ringed by mountains, planted at elevations above 1,500 meters, where Colombia's most important rivers converge and bring abundant water and humidity. Roasted medium-dark, this washed lot emphasizes dark chocolate and nutty sweetness with a moderate oil and a full, rich body. It works for pour-over and French press, and just as well for moka pot or espresso machine when you want an americano or a latte.

In recent years Colombia has also embraced more experimental processing. Anaerobic fermentation - sometimes called carbon dioxide maceration - is essentially fermentation in a low-oxygen or oxygen-free environment, usually in a pressure-resistant stainless-steel tank where temperature, time, pH, and other variables can be controlled; its best-known forms are anaerobic natural and anaerobic washed. FrontStreet's Colombia Fenjiexian Estate lot is processed as an anaerobic natural, and the oxygen-free fermentation transforms the coffee into a bounty of tropical fruit. Roasted medium-light, it can be brewed as pour-over, cold brew, drip bag, or moka pot to reveal complex, aromatic notes of passion fruit, grape, apricot, and dried fruit.

If you brew at home on an espresso machine or a moka pot, baristas strongly recommend FrontStreet's Premium Blend - an espresso built with cafes in mind. It combines the creamy, nutty sweetness of Brazilian coffee with the dark, bittersweet chocolate of Colombian coffee, and pulls with a fine golden crema. It is superb with milk in a rich, smooth latte, is friendly to beginners, and serves as the base for everyday drinks like an americano, cappuccino, or mocha.