Panama Kotowa Estate Duncan Estate Natural Caturra Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee: Duncan Estate Caturra Coffee Beans

Country: Panama
Region: Boquete, Duncan Estate
Variety: Caturra
Altitude: 1650-1750 meters
Processing: Natural
Flavor: Floral notes, red grape, dried fruit, prune, fermented sensation

The coffee history of Kotowa Estate is remarkably rich, with the story of its first-generation owner tracing back to the late 19th century.

Born in 1873 as a Canadian, Alexander Duncan MacIntyre initially started his career in the fruit trade business alongside his brother Joseph Albert McIntyre. Later, both brothers entered politics, with Alexander even becoming the youngest mayor of Port Alberni.

In 1916, his brother Joseph purchased a farm named Finca Carolin in Boquete, Panama. Although he only stayed for a period, he returned to Canada full of praise for this land. Meanwhile, Alexander had also read several articles introducing Boquete in newspapers and became attracted to this primitive land, embarking on a journey to the unknown with curiosity and longing.

In 1925, Alexander decided to move from North America to settle in Boquete, Panama. He married a local woman named Angela Rosas and, like other immigrants, chose to cultivate and farm this land. After renaming the farm to La Carolina, Alexander built a small coffee processing plant, thus beginning the coffee cultivation story of the Kotowa family and opening a new chapter for four generations to thrive here.

Kotowa is situated at the foot of Baru Volcano in western Panama, featuring lush vegetation, unique microclimates, and fertile volcanic soil. Moisture from the Atlantic converges at slopes up to 2500 meters in altitude, condensing to form rainfall. During the dry season, sunlight is abundant, providing ample water resources and sunshine for the coffee trees planted here, allowing them to fully absorb nutrients.

Currently, Kotowa Estate has passed to its third generation, jointly managed by Mr. Ricardo Koyner and his daughter Victoria.

Notably, besides being an estate owner, Mr. Ricardo holds another identity as one of the founders of the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama (SCAP) and also served as the first president of SCAP. Beginning in the 1990s, many Panamanian coffee farmers realized the challenges facing the industry and sought development opportunities. They turned to the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) for help. After several years of effort, seven coffee farmer representatives began promoting the establishment of a dedicated Panamanian coffee organization in 1996 to help enhance the overall competitiveness of the country's coffee.

After taking over the estate, Mr. Ricardo recognized the importance of branding and officially named his farm Cafe Kotowa Farms. In addition to preserving the green bean processing plant left by his grandfather, he also purchased equipment such as coffee bean roasters and opened brand coffee shops locally, with the goal of directly selling "Kotowa" branded products to broader markets such as Europe and America.

Compared to other estates, the equipment in Kotowa's processing plant is water-powered. The entire machine is driven by wooden gears of different sizes and hand-sewn animal hides that serve as transmission links. In an era of resource scarcity, this undoubtedly constituted very advanced equipment. Even more precious is that this equipment remains fully preserved today and is displayed within the estate, allowing visitors to experience the authentic history of Panama's coffee industry.

Today, Kotowa has a total of seven farms under its banner, five of which are well-known to coffee enthusiasts: Finca Kotowa DUNCAN (Duncan Estate), Finca Kotowa Don K (Don K Estate), Finca RIO CRISTAL (Crystal River Estate), Finca Kotowa TRADICIONAL (Traditional Kotowa Estate), and Finca Kotowa LAS BRUJAS (Witches Estate). The other two new farms are Mango and Redondo, which currently have no coffee on the market.

According to research conducted by FrontStreet Coffee, the word "Kotowa" originates from the local indigenous Ngäbe language, meaning "mountain." Kotowa's logo is modeled after the main force in Panama coffee fruit harvesting - the local indigenous group called Gnobe Bugle, whom locals also refer to as "Guaymíes."

To commemorate the first-generation farm owner, Duncan Estate was named after Ricardo's grandfather Alexander. Don K Estate honors his father Richard Koyner ("Don" means "Mr." in Spanish). Witches Estate derives its name from the stream in front of it, as the flowing water often makes sounds like "howls" from witches in the primeval forest. Crystal River Estate, as the name suggests, was given this melodious name because when the river rolls under sunlight, one can see a dazzling, crystal-like radiance.

Due to the estates' repeated successes in competitions, the "Kotowa" brand has long been a household name locally. When mentioning Kotowa coffee in China, many enthusiasts, like FrontStreet Coffee, probably first think of Duncan Estate, which frequently appears in various competitions, and Witches Estate, which has continuously received awards in recent years.

FrontStreet Coffee's Tasting Experience

FrontStreet Coffee's latest acquisition is the natural Caturra from Duncan Estate. Regular readers of FrontStreet Coffee's articles know that the maturity of coffee cherries during harvesting greatly impacts the final quality. To present the most abundant coffee aroma, Kotowa Estate requires workers to gently pick coffee cherries when they turn wine-red and quickly process them after harvest to avoid over-fermentation of the pulp that could produce unpleasant flavors.

To showcase its fragrant floral and fruit notes while highlighting caramelized sweetness, we adopted a medium-light roast level and promptly conducted cupping.

This Duncan Estate Natural Caturra presents delicate pink floral notes and rich fruit aromas in its dry fragrance, immediately reminding FrontStreet Coffee's team of cranberries, dried fruits, and grapes. After breaking the crust and removing grounds, the coffee reveals mature Kyoho grape and prune flavors upon entry, accompanied by honey-like sweetness. As the temperature slightly decreases, the acidity of hawthorn gradually emerges with brown sugar notes, adding another layer of complexity to the entire cup.

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