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FrontStreet Coffee - Hacienda La Esperanza

Country: Panama

Region: Boquete

Grade: SHB

Varieties: Caturra, Catuai, Typica

Roast Level: CITY+ (Medium)

Processing Method: Washed

Growing Environment: Altitude 1400-1600M

Producer/Company: Hacienda La Esperanza

Certification: Organic Certified

Flavor Profile: This FrontStreet Coffee Organic Boquete presents nut and berry aromatics in both dry and wet fragrance. It offers gentle acidity, high sweetness, and a delicate, rich body with an exceptionally long aftertaste. Overall, it bears some resemblance to baby Geisha and sweet Geisha varieties.

Hacienda La Esperanza Estate

Hacienda La Esperanza is situated at an altitude of 1400-1600 meters, with an annual production between 300-700 bags. Most processing is completed on the farm, using washed processing with sun-drying methods, while the removed husks, pulp, and mucilage are repurposed as fertilizer. The estate plants 60% Caturra, 20% Catuai, and 20% Typica and other varieties, with the most famous being Geisha, which won the championship at Best of Panama in 2008. They also cultivate many local trees as shade providers that nourish the soil, including citrus trees and various tropical fruits such as lemons and grapefruits. The estate contains a vast tropical rainforest nature reserve, along with at least three different mountain wells rich in rainfall. The average annual rainfall reaches 3200mm, with daytime temperatures ranging from 16-23°C and nighttime temperatures from 14-20°C.

Hacienda La Esperanza differs from other estates in that it employs a PhD botanist, three professional cuppers, and 100 full-time employees, currently managing six affiliated estates. The estate is owned by the Herrera brothers. In fact, the Herrera brothers' grandfather operated a coffee farm in the Trujillo region of Colombia, which later declined, prompting the brothers to leave Colombia. However, they never abandoned their dream of returning to their homeland to operate coffee estates.

Upon returning to their homeland, the first estate the Herreras purchased was Hacienda La Esperanza in Trujillo, located very close to their grandfather's original farm, which now serves as their regional headquarters. The estate itself is 100% organic, with different coffee tree varieties including Colombian, Castillo, Caturra, and over 14,000 organic Geisha plants. Subsequently, the Herreras acquired four more estates in Trujillo and Caicedonia north of Trujillo. Along with La Cardeida estate in Boquete, Panama, which they leased in 2005, they now manage six estates in total, with a combined coffee cultivation area of 213 hectares.

The estates under Cafe Granja La Esperanza are located in eight unique microclimate regions across three mountain ranges in Colombia, providing their botanists with excellent opportunities to experiment with different microclimates and terroir flavors, various processing methods, and different coffee varieties—combining the rationality of scientists, the business acumen of merchants, and a commitment to coffee quality. For example, they create different processing steps and standards for different microclimates and varieties. From seedling cultivation to export, they manage all data with 95 data points.

The team led by chief botanist Hernando Tapasco has established climate stations in the estates to track weather data and assist in harvesting decisions. Farm data is continuously collected and analyzed weekly. After harvesting, they compare weather data, production data, and cupping data to analyze correlations. Geisha harvesters receive strict training to pick only mature cherry fruits and are paid daily wages, unlike other estates that pay by weight. This prevents workers from harvesting unqualified cherries to increase their output. Half of the harvest workers have over six years of experience. After picking, the fruits are sent to the central processing plant within Hacienda La Esperanza, where each batch of Geisha is marked and processed separately. They first undergo a three-day pre-drying phase in the sun-drying area before being moved to small drying towers. Strict quality control is another key factor—among the 40,000-45,000 Geisha trees at Cerro Azul estate, only 5-7,000 trees can produce Geisha beans worthy of the Cerro Azul brand.

Hacienda La Esperanza's experimentation and innovation with varieties seem endless, continuously testing new varieties. In addition to the organic Caturra that originally occupied most of the area at Hacienda La Esperanza, they grow Geisha, organic Geisha, Mocha, Bourbon (including red, yellow, and Tekisik Bourbons), Laurina, Pacamara, San Bernardo, and Pache. They truly apply the serious attitude that wineries have toward grape varieties to coffee. After Geisha, the Pacamara, Bourbon, and Laurina from Hacienda La Esperanza continue to create surprises and admiration in the specialty coffee industry.

Their efforts have finally paid off. As early as the 2008 "Best of Panama" competition, La Cardeida, leased by Hacienda La Esperanza, won the Best of Panama championship with a high score of 93.16. In the 2012 Annual Coffee Triple Crown, three estates currently primarily growing Geisha won separately: Cerro Azul placed second, Las Margarita third, and Buenos Aires Experimental Estate seventh.

FrontStreet Coffee Panama SHB Cerro Azul Medium Roast Washed - ¥69.00 / ¥138.00
Floral notes, subtle citrus acidity, clean and bright mouthfeel

FrontStreet Coffee Panama (Free shipping within Guangdong Province) SHB Hacienda La Illeta Medium Roast Washed - ¥75.00 / ¥150.00
Creamy bread, apricot kernel sweetness, rounded acidity

FrontStreet Coffee Panama SHB (30% Geisha) Hacienda El Tucan Medium Roast Honey Washed - ¥79.00 / ¥158.00
White grape, caramel, honey, black tea

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