Recommended Panama Geisha Coffee Beans: Brewing Flavor Characteristics of Casa Luis Estate Geisha

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There are many famous coffee estates in the Boquete region of Panama. For example, the Hacienda La Esmeralda, renowned for its Geisha coffee beans, and the Elida estate of the Lamastus family. The high-quality and delicately flavored coffee beans from large estates in the Boquete region attract the love of many coffee enthusiasts. Besides these famous large estates, there are some smaller estates worth trying for their coffee beans. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee has acquired natural processed Geisha coffee beans from the Casa Luisa Cooperative to see how this bean performs.

Casa Luisa Estate

This natural processed Geisha from FrontStreet Coffee comes from the Casa Luisa Estate (Casa Ruiz, S.A.) in Panama. The estate was established in 1920 and is located in the Boquete region of Baru Volcano. The average annual rainfall is 3000 millimeters (between May and November), the average annual temperature is 14-24 degrees Celsius, and the altitude is above 1400 meters.

Mr. Plinio Antonio Ruiz González and his wife Mrs. Elisa Aurora Araúz de Ruiz are the second-generation successors of the estate. They are mainly responsible for the trade of their own green coffee beans. After years of work, they now own three estates: La Berlina, Maunier, Panamaría, and a coffee shop CAFÉ RUIZ. The estate owner's coffee beans follow the local traditions of the Boquete region, using environmentally friendly methods to grow coffee. However, to improve the quality of green beans, different from the past, they have increased the strict standards for every step of green bean processing, including cultivation, processing, selection, and storage.

Casa Luisa Estate is also a frequent winner of the Best of Panama (BOP) competition. Because the estate has high-quality technology and strictly controls every detail, with layer-by-layer screening, recording, and review, their beans are excellent in appearance, consistency, freshness, dry aroma, and flavor, with particularly distinctive aroma performance. At the 2004 international auction, the price per pound of green beans reached $20. In May 2004, they debuted at the Panama Cupping Competition, beginning their dominance. In 2013, they set a historical record of $350 per pound of green beans.

FrontStreet Coffee - Casa Luisa Estate Natural Processed Geisha Coffee Beans

Region: Panama, Boquete

Estate: Casa Luisa Estate

Processing Method: Natural Process

Altitude: 1600-1650 meters

Variety: Geisha

Refined Natural Processing Method

This batch of Geisha coffee beans acquired by FrontStreet Coffee uses refined natural processing. First, floating debris and impurities are removed, and specially designed raised drying beds are used, allowing more air circulation for the berries, resulting in more uniform drying.

During the process, the coffee beans are turned and screened every hour to pick out insect-damaged beans and green-colored coffee beans. The total drying time is 18-30 days. FrontStreet Coffee believes that naturally processed coffee has noticeable sweetness, soft acidity, and produces complex fruit-like flavor notes.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Records

When FrontStreet Coffee received this batch of beans, they noticed that the green bean surface had a slight silver skin, was yellow-green in color, pointed at both ends, and had a long bean shape. FrontStreet Coffee's roaster decided to use medium-light roasting based on the variety, because Geisha has very obvious and clear floral and citrus flavors.

Using a Yangjia 800N semi-direct flame roaster, with 300g batch size. Preheat the roaster to 170°C before loading, adjust heat to 120, damper open to 3, return to temperature at 1'42", maintain heat; at 133°C, keep heat unchanged, damper open to 4. At 5'25", beans turn yellow, grassy smell disappears, entering dehydration stage. At 166°C, heat is reduced to 100, damper remains at 4. At 173°C, heat is adjusted to 60, damper unchanged.

At 8'00", dehydration is complete, wrinkles and black patterns appear on the bean surface, toast smell turns to coffee aroma, which is the prelude to first crack. At this time, pay attention to listening for the sound of first crack. At 8'52", first crack begins, damper fully open to 5, heat unchanged. Development time after first crack is 1'45", drop at 193.2°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Report

FrontStreet Coffee conducts cupping within 8-24 hours after roasting sample coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee's barista generally uses 200ml ceramic bowls for cupping. The water temperature used for cupping is 94°C. The grind size is controlled to have a 70%-75% pass rate through a #20 standard sieve (0.85mm). Ratio: 11g of coffee powder to 200ml of hot water, that is 1:18.18, which extracts a concentration right within the golden cup range of 1.15%-1.35%, with an immersion time of 4 minutes.

Dry Aroma: Berries

Wet Aroma: Floral

Flavor: Berry sweet and sour, tea floral notes, cane sugar, juice-like sensation, orange citrus aroma, black tea

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Tips

Water Temperature: 90-91°C

Grind Size: BG#6m (fine sugar size/80% passes through #20 sieve)

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Coffee Amount: 15g

FrontStreet Coffee uses segmented extraction, that is, three-stage water pouring. First, 30g of water for blooming for 30 seconds. Second, small water flow circular pouring to 125g, stop pouring, wait for water level to drop, then slowly pour water again with even speed, water level should not be too high, pour to 225g and stop. Total extraction time is 2 minutes (including blooming time).

Brewing Flavor: Berry juice-like sensation, tea flower aroma, sweet cane sugar, orange citrus aroma, black tea aftertaste

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

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473