How to Distinguish Between Diamond Mountain Series Caturra and Catuai Coffee Beans from Panama's La Esmeralda Estate

Most coffee enthusiasts are undoubtedly familiar with the Geisha coffee beans from Hacienda La Esmeralda. The estate categorizes its Geisha varieties into three brands: Esmeralda Special, Private Collection, and Geisha 1500, commonly known as Red Label, Green Label, and Blue Label. Beyond grading Geisha varieties, Hacienda La Esmeralda also divides its Caturra and Catuai varieties into two brands: Diamond Mountain and Palmyra. FrontStreet Coffee would like to introduce the Natural Diamond Mountain coffee beans in this article.

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

In 1964, American banker Rudolph Peterson retired and moved to Panama, purchasing Hacienda La Esmeralda in Boquete, which initially focused on dairy farming. Later, his son Price left his medical career to assist his father in managing the farm. In 1987, they introduced Caturra and Catuai coffee bean varieties, and in 1994, established a washing station, thus having their own coffee processing facility.

The Geisha coffee at Hacienda La Esmeralda was somewhat of an "accident." Initially, because Geisha coffee trees were tall, sparse, and low-yielding, the estate owner used them as windbreaks to shield strong winds and protect other high-yielding Caturra and Catuai coffee areas. However, during harvesting, a captivating floral aroma was faintly detected. The owner then followed the trail and discovered Geisha coffee trees thriving in the strong winds and low temperatures where regular coffee trees typically couldn't survive, emitting floral and citrus aromas. Consequently, in 2004, Hacienda La Esmeralda separately entered Geisha into competition, which became an instant success at the BOP competition, establishing the estate's prominent position in the specialty coffee industry.

Caturra & Catuai Varieties

As FrontStreet Coffee just mentioned, Hacienda La Esmeralda initially introduced and primarily cultivated Caturra and Catuai varieties. Caturra is a Bourbon variant discovered in Brazil in 1937. It offers better productivity and disease resistance than Bourbon, with shorter plants that facilitate harvesting. It adapts well without requiring shade trees and is suitable for cultivation from low altitudes of 700 meters to high altitudes of 1700 meters. While highly adaptable to different altitudes, higher elevations produce better flavors though with relatively reduced yields.

Catuai, initially called "H-2077," is a coffee variety created in 1949 through artificial hybridization of yellow Caturra and Mundo Novo. Catuai possesses good resistance to natural disasters, particularly wind and rain. Due to its smaller plant size, it can be planted at double density, and its compact height makes pest and disease treatment relatively easier. Catuai grows vigorously and remains low-height but is susceptible to leaf rust disease.

Diamond Mountain Series

The Caturra and Catuai varieties of the Diamond Mountain series are grown in the Canas Verdes and Jaramillo regions, with overall coffee cultivation distributed at altitudes of 1400-1700 meters. Diamond Mountain brand coffee holds Eco-friendly certification and Rainforest Alliance Certification.

Canas Verdes has an annual rainfall of 3500ml, with average daytime temperatures between 16-23°C and nighttime temperatures between 10-15°C, at an average altitude of 1600-1800m. Canas Verdes includes 9 small plots: Lino, Coronado, Fundador, Leon, Montaa, Trapiche, Chinta, Cabaa, and Tumaco.

Jaramillo has an annual rainfall of 4000ml, with average daytime temperatures between 19-25°C and nighttime temperatures between 11-15°C, at an average altitude of 1600-1700m. The Jaramillo plots are subdivided into 5 small plots: Mario, Noria, Reina, Bosque, and Buenos Aires.

Rainforest Alliance Certified: Farms that meet the standards established by the "Rainforest Alliance" undergo protection of their farm and surrounding ecosystems, restrictions on pesticide use, and evaluation of waste management benchmarks. Only coffee that passes evaluation and certification can be called "Rainforest Alliance Certified Coffee." Because the environmental impact during coffee cultivation is minimal, the Panamanian government has also awarded the Eco-friendly ecological label to Diamond Mountain series coffee beans.

Natural Process

The Diamond Mountain beans that FrontStreet Coffee acquired use the natural processing method. In the natural processing, harvested coffee cherries are directly sent to patios for drying. The coffee cherries gradually dry while the coffee beans remain inside, filling with fruit and aromatic flavors. Depending on weather and site composition, coffee cherries are dried on concrete patios for 3 to 5 days (8 hours daily).

When the coffee cherries have dried to a certain degree, they are then placed in a Guardiola dryer and rotated for 72 hours to complete the drying process and prevent fermentation. After drying is complete, the coffee cherries are mechanically processed to remove the peel and pulp. FrontStreet Coffee believes that the natural processing method adds sweetness and mature red berry flavors to the coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee Green Bean Analysis

By observing the natural processed green beans of Diamond Mountain, FrontStreet Coffee notes that the green beans have a yellowish color, and natural processed green beans also have more silver skin on the surface. Caturra green beans have curved ends, being round and slender, while Catuai beans are flat-bodied with relatively slender ends.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Record

FrontStreet Coffee's roaster uses a Yangjia 800N semi-direct flame, roasting 480g. The machine is preheated to 165°C before loading, with heat adjusted to 130 and damper opened to 3. The temperature return point is at 1'36", maintaining heat. At 112°C, heat remains unchanged while damper opens to 4, and at 127°C, heat rises to 140. At 6'15", beans turn yellow, grassy aroma disappears, entering the dehydration stage. At 151°C, heat is reduced to 110 while damper remains at 4.

At 9'00", dehydration is complete, wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast aroma transforms to coffee aroma, signaling the prelude to first crack. At this point, one must listen carefully for the sound of first crack. First crack begins at 10'48", damper fully opened to 5, with 1'20" development time after first crack, ending at 191°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Report

FrontStreet Coffee conducts cupping within 8-24 hours after roasting sample coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee's baristas typically use 200ml ceramic cups for cupping. Cupping water temperature is 94°C. Grind size is controlled to achieve 70%-75% pass-through through a #20 standard sieve (0.85mm). Ratio: 11.1g of coffee powder to 200ml of hot water, i.e., 1:18.18, which extracts a concentration precisely within the 1.15%-1.35% golden cup range, with an immersion time of 4 minutes.

Dry Aroma: Citrus, berries
Wet Aroma: Citrus
Flavor: Citrus, honey, cocoa, fermented wine aroma

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Tips

Dripper: V60#01
Water Temperature: 90-91°C
Dose: 15g
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Medium-fine grind (Chinese standard #20 sieve with 80% pass-through)

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Method: Three-stage extraction. Use 30g of water for 30-second bloom, then pour in a small circular motion to 125g for stage separation. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. Extraction time is 2'00" (starting from bloom timing).

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

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