Introduction to Panama Boquete Geisha Coffee - Finca Don Benjie Anaerobic Natural Geisha Brewing Flavor

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Growing coffee for some people may be for livelihood, it may be a generational family business, or it may be a hobby. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will share a coffee estate located in the Boquete region of Panama - Café Don Benjie, the beginning of which estate starts with a pediatrician.

Boquete Region, Panama

Boquete is a town in Chiriqui Province, located near the border between Panama and Costa Rica, close to the famous Baru Volcano. The scenery is beautiful, the soil is rich and fertile, and the climate and soil are very suitable for producing high-quality coffee. The cool, foggy, mountainous geographical environment creates unique microclimates. The cool climate and frequent fog help slow down the maturation process of coffee cherries, which has the same effect as high altitude. FrontStreet Coffee cupped coffee beans from this region and found that the coffee flavors can range from cocoa to fruity notes, with a slight acidity.

The microclimate possessed by the Boquete highlands is an important and unique resource for specialty coffee in the Boquete region. This allows the east-to-west environment of Panama to gather cold air currents through the central mountains above 1600m, thus creating various microclimates in the Boquete area, making the temperature and rainfall very suitable for plant growth. Therefore, coffee trees planted here grow very well.

Café Don Benjie Estate

Dr. Renán Esquivel, a famous Panamanian pediatrician, is not only a pediatrician but also a nature lover. In 1980, he purchased the Bajo Mono farm, which was his first farm purchase. Dr. Renán Esquivel planted many various trees, plants, and coffee varieties in the farm, which have been preserved to this day. The Bajo Mono farm coffee plantation covers 33 hectares, located in the Chiriqui highlands, in the canyon north of Boquete town, on the slopes of Baru Volcano, at an altitude of 1400-1550m.

Bajo Mono is one of the best areas for producing high-quality Panamanian coffee because the region has volcanic soil, clear spring fountains, and the famous climate phenomenon known locally as "Bajareque." When moisture from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans meet, thin mists rise among the mountains when the wind blows, and rainbows can often be seen. All of these create a unique microclimate, providing better growing conditions and quality for coffee trees in the region.

The current owner of the farm is Stefan Arwed Müller, who has been operating the Bajo Mono coffee farm since 2011, dedicated to further improving coffee bean quality and protecting the ecological environment of the plantation area. The coffee beans produced are named Café Don Benjie.

FrontStreet Coffee - Panama Café Don Benjie Estate Geisha Coffee Beans

Region: Boquete, Panama - Café Don Benjie Estate

Variety: Geisha

Altitude: 1500m

Processing Method: Anaerobic Natural

Geisha Coffee Bean Variety

Geisha coffee beans are slender in shape, and their flavor is fresh and pleasant. From these two aspects, Geisha indeed does not resemble Central and South American coffee varieties, but rather Ethiopian coffee varieties. So when was Geisha introduced to Panama? It was discovered in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia in 1931.

Afterward, Geisha was sent to the Coffee Research Institute in Kenya, introduced to Uganda and Tanzania in 1936, introduced to Costa Rica in 1953, and approximately introduced to Panama around 1960. Although Geisha has strong disease resistance, its yield is low, so people at that time used this variety as a plant for variety improvement and then it disappeared. It wasn't until 2004 when they were rediscovered in the windbreak of Hacienda La Esmeralda that Geisha coffee beans entered people's attention through competitions. Afterward, Geisha variety coffee trees were distributed in coffee-producing areas in Panama and even around the world. However, the difference is that Geisha coffee needs to grow in harsh and high-altitude environments to form rich and captivating floral aromas, so when FrontStreet Coffee cupped the Don Benjie Estate Geisha coffee beans, the floral aroma was not particularly prominent.

Anaerobic Natural Processing Method

FrontStreet Coffee learned that the coffee beans from this estate are hand-picked, and the coffee beans are carefully selected and processed. However, water usage on this farm is very limited to promote environmental sustainability. In all the coffee they process, they always aim for high cup quality.

Anaerobic fermentation has been a very popular post-processing method in recent years. Usually, coffee cherries are placed in sealed containers or in washing tanks to ferment in water. During this process, different microorganisms are used for fermentation to create special flavors. After fermentation is complete, these coffee cherries are taken to dry in the sun.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Record

Heat the roaster to 160°C, add beans, flame power 110, damper setting 3. Return temperature at 1'26". When the temperature reaches 140°C, open the damper to 4. When the temperature reaches 168°C, reduce the flame power to 80, damper unchanged.

At 7'38", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, the toast smell clearly turns to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. First crack starts at 8'44", open damper to 5, develop for 1'20" after first crack, unload at 192.5°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Report

FrontStreet Coffee cups samples 8 hours after each batch is roasted, using 200ml standard cupping bowls, with a grind size of 70%-75% pass rate through a #20 standard sieve, and 11g of coffee powder. Water TDS is 120ppm, water temperature is 94°C. First grind and smell the dry aroma, then add water to fill the bowl. Confirm the wet aroma, break crust and remove grounds after 4 minutes, then conduct flavor tasting.

After cupping, FrontStreet Coffee believes that this bean has flavors of floral, blueberry, plum, peach, caramel, with bright acidity and a juicy mouthfeel.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Experience

Dose: 15g

Grind Size: Medium-fine (78% pass rate through #20 standard sieve)

Ratio: 1:16

Water Temperature: 91°C

Dripper: V60 #01

FrontStreet Coffee segmented brewing: 1. First pour 30g of water for 30 seconds of blooming. 2. After blooming, pour the second segment of water, pouring 110g from the center outward in a circular motion. This pour can be slow; Geisha coffee is very extraction-resistant and requires a certain pouring time to extract its aroma. Wait for the water level to drop to half after pouring. 3. When the coffee bed is about to be exposed, pour the third segment of 100g water, with a total poured amount of 240g. Wait for the coffee to finish filtering, then remove the dripper. Total brewing time is 2 minutes and 2 seconds.

Brewing flavor: The entry has obvious blueberry acidity, juice-like mouthfeel, with rose floral notes in the middle section, plum acidity, and a caramel sweetness in the aftertaste.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat, WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

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