Comparison of Geisha Coffee Beans from Janson Estate and Hacienda La Esmeralda in Boquete, Panama

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If the production of Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda in the Boquete region is considered the largest, then the Geisha from Janson Farm in the Volcan region would be the second largest. In previous articles, FrontStreet Coffee introduced coffee estates in the Boquete region, so everyone should be quite familiar with it by now. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will discuss another major specialty coffee producing region in Panama—Volcan, to help you understand Janson Farm.

Volcan Region

When it comes to Panamanian coffee, the specialty coffee producing regions that the public is more familiar with mostly come from Boquete, but in recent years, coffee from the Volcan region has gradually emerged in the specialty market. At the same time, quite a few estates have entered the Best of Panama competition and even won championships. Among them, Janson Farm achieved an excellent second-place result in the natural processed category at the 2019 BOP competition.

Unlike Boquete, the Volcan region is located on the east side of Baru Volcano. The Boquete region receives sea breezes from the Atlantic through terrain gaps, and with varied topography, it has abundant microclimates and very humid weather. However, the entire Volcan region's conditions are quite different. The northern mountains of Volcan form a deeper barrier, making it difficult for Atlantic moisture to come roaring in with the wind. This makes the Volcan region quite dry with abundant sunshine, providing an excellent foundation for coffee bean drying, making sun-dried coffee beans from the Volcan region famously high-quality.

The Volcan region has an altitude of 2000-3000 meters, and the volcanic soil cultivation gives the coffee a mild and balanced flavor. Additionally, most coffee producers in the Volcan region use natural processing methods for green coffee beans. Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee has found that coffee beans from the Volcan region have strong dried fruit sweetness and aroma.

Janson Farm

In 2013, a new contender appeared in the Best of Panama awards presented by the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama (SCAP)! That was the Geisha variety from Carl Janson's Janson Farm, also known as "the champagne of coffee." With full jasmine floral aroma and delicate berry notes, it has a clean taste with honey and lychee flavors.

Janson Farm is located on the west side of Baru Volcano with a total area of 1200 hectares and an altitude of about 1700 meters. The nutrient-rich volcanic soil, abundant rainfall, and suitable temperatures within the farm have gradually made Janson Farm the second-largest Geisha-producing estate in Panama, with 50% of the farm planted with Geisha variety coffee trees.

Mr. Carl Janson, the owner of Janson Farm, places great emphasis on maintaining the balance of the natural environment. He adopts 100% sustainable farming practices, using enzymes and microorganisms to maintain nutrient balance in the soil. He also operates livestock farming alongside coffee cultivation and has built a dedicated processing plant to use processed coffee cherries as farm fertilizer. Only 2000 Geisha plants are planted per hectare, ensuring sufficient soil between plants.

Geisha Coffee Variety

Geisha coffee can only develop rich and charming floral aromas when grown at high altitudes. The fertile soil and high altitude of Janson Farm provide an excellent growing environment for Geisha coffee. FrontStreet Coffee conducted a cupping comparison between natural processed Geisha coffee beans from Hacienda La Esmeralda and Janson Farm.

The Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda grows in high-altitude areas with harsh climate conditions, which slows down the growth rate of Geisha coffee in this region and allows for more complex flavor development, with main notes of rose and berry juice, and a solid, full mouthfeel. In contrast, the growing environment for Geisha at Janson Farm is much better, with a slightly faster growth rate than Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda. Therefore, although the floral aroma is not as pronounced as that of Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha, it still has subtle jasmine and ginger flower aromas, with richer fruit aromas.

Natural Processing Method

The natural processing method is the oldest and most original processing method for coffee beans. Janson Farm screens the harvested coffee cherries and then places them on concrete patios for sun drying. After about 27-30 days of direct sun "baptism," the moisture content of the cherries reduces from 60% to about 12%.

After drying is complete, the coffee cherries are sent to the processing plant for hulling. The hulled green coffee beans are screened again to remove defective coffee beans. This reflects the quality of the coffee drying process—over-dried coffee beans are quite fragile and may break into fragments during hulling; while under-dried coffee beans have too much moisture, making them prone to bacterial growth and mold before being sent to the warehouse for storage until export. FrontStreet Coffee believes that naturally processed coffee beans have low acidity, high sweetness, and clear texture, but slightly less cleanliness, with more berry-like notes in flavor and greater complexity.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Insights

FrontStreet Coffee's roaster noticed that these coffee beans are quite large in size and dense, absorbing more heat during the roasting process, with a faster Maillard reaction.

Heat the roaster to 200°C, open the air damper to 3.5. After 30 seconds, adjust the heat to 160°C, set the air damper to 3. Return temperature at 1'32", adjust heat once when the drum temperature reaches 153.3°C. At this point, the bean surface turns yellow and the grassy aroma completely disappears, indicating dehydration is complete. Adjust heat to 140°C, set air damper to 4. At 9'00", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, and the toast aroma clearly transitions to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. First crack begins at 9'47", reduce heat to 50°C, fully open air damper to 5 (adjust heat very carefully, not so low that there's no cracking sound). Develop for 2'40" after first crack, then discharge at 197.1°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 bowls for cupping. The water temperature used for cupping is 94°C, with a grind size controlled to pass 70%-75% 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 exactly within the 1.15%-1.35% Golden Cup range, with an immersion time of 4 minutes.

Dry aroma: Jasmine flowers, berries

Wet aroma: Ginger flower, grapes, black currant

Flavor: Lemon, citrus, apple, jasmine, ginger flower, grapes, peaches, maple syrup

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Tips

Filter: Hario V60

Water temperature: 90°C

Coffee dose: 15g

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Grind size: Medium-fine (BG#6S: 80% pass through China standard #20 sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee uses segmented extraction: Bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds. When pouring with a small circular motion to 125g, create a segmentation. 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 filter cup. (Timing starts from the bloom) Extraction time is 2'00".

Brewing flavor: Smells fermented, with lime, raspberry, and nectarine flavors upon entry. There are cocoa, cream, and caramel sweetness, with vanilla aftertaste and fruit sweetness, and high body.

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