Introduction to Coffee from Panama's Boquete Region: Baru Volcanic Area and Flavor Profile of Boquete Geisha Coffee Beans

Panama: The Land of Exceptional Coffee

Panama is a Central American country, bordered by Costa Rica to the west and Colombia to the east. Those familiar with single-origin coffee should know that Panamanian coffee is renowned in the coffee world for its Geisha variety from Hacienda La Esmeralda. Since La Esmeralda's Geisha won the Best of Panama (BOP) championship in 2004, the names Panama and Geisha have become deeply intertwined. Complementing each other, more than a decade later, Panamanian coffee has almost become synonymous with the finest coffee. When mentioning the world's best coffee, Panama always appears on the candidate list. It can be described as a country that pursues excellence in coffee and produces high-quality coffee beans.

Panamanian coffee is famous for the Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda, and the region where this estate is located is also quite renowned - the Boquete region in Chiriquí province. Boquete is a town in Chiriquí province, situated near the border between Panama and Costa Rica, close to the famous Barú volcano. With its beautiful scenery, fertile and rich soil, and climate and terrain perfectly suited for producing high-quality coffee.

At FrontStreet Coffee, we have several excellent coffee beans from the Boquete region, with the most famous being the Emerald and Green Label from Hacienda La Esmeralda, and besides Esmeralda, there's also Elida Estate. These excellent beans are inseparable from the region's environmental climate, varieties, and processing methods. Let's join FrontStreet Coffee in exploring what makes this region special.

Note: Throughout this article, Boquete may be translated as "Bokete," "Boquete," or "Boquet," all referring to the same place. We will consistently use "Boquete" throughout this text.

Panama has two main coffee-producing regions: Boquete and Volcán. Both regions are located within Panama's Chiriquí province. In the language of the indigenous people who lived here in pre-Columbian times, "Chiriquí" means "Valley of the Moon." Chiriquí province is located in western Panama, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the south, only a 3-hour drive from the Caribbean Sea, and sharing borders with Costa Rica to the northwest.

What must be mentioned between these two regions is the Chiriquí volcano, which has a name more familiar to us - Barú volcano.

Volcán Barú

The Chiriquí volcano, also known as Barú volcano, is the highest mountain in Panama, with its main peak reaching 3,474 meters above sea level. The volcano extends approximately 35 kilometers along the border with Costa Rica. Due to the volcano's high altitude and Panama's elongated shape, on clear days, it's possible to see both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea simultaneously from the mountain.

Barú volcano is a dormant volcano, with the most recent potential activity only occurring within the Chiriquí province on the western side of the North American continental divide. The volcano is surrounded by fertile highlands, with many rivers originating from the mountains, primarily the Chiriquí and Caldera rivers. Most residential settlements are concentrated on the western side of the volcano, with exceptions such as the town of Boquete, with approximately 19,000 residents, located on the eastern side.

(Reference for the distribution of famous estates in Panama)

Barú volcano is not only the highest mountain range in Panama, but the sediment from early volcanic activity and eruptions has brought large amounts of very fertile soil. This soil is rich in nutrients, and the volcanic ash contains abundant phosphorus and sulfur. Combined with unique climate patterns, this region has formed an environment suitable for growing high-quality coffee. The dense forests and numerous species create rich biodiversity.

The area surrounding Barú volcano provides excellent conditions for coffee cultivation, with appropriate rainfall, high altitude, and cloud cover, which help coffee trees grow slowly and accumulate nutrients. Panama's distinct dry and rainy seasons facilitate natural processing methods - this represents favorable timing. Meanwhile, Barú volcano provides nutrient-rich volcanic soil and numerous mountain rivers with sufficient water resources, which benefits washed processing methods - this represents geographical advantage. Such favorable timing and geographical conditions provide prerequisites for cultivating high-quality Panamanian coffee.

Boquete

Boquete is known to us as one of Panama's coffee-producing regions, located on the eastern side of Barú volcano. Boquete has excellent growing conditions, with coffee cultivated at altitudes between 1,200 to 2,000 meters, minimum temperatures around 11°C, and maximum temperatures around 27°C - neither too cold for frost nor too hot, while also featuring significant temperature variations.

In his book "The Coffee Hunter," Teacher Hsu Baolin describes Boquete this way: "The mild climate, fertile young volcanic soil, moderate rainfall, and varied microclimates have earned the mountainous areas around Boquete the reputation of 'coffee paradise.' 'The high temperature and humidity of Panama City, which neighbors find unbearable, contrasts sharply with the forests, blue skies, clean air, and pleasant temperatures of the producing region Boquete. The capital has a typical equatorial climate, while Boquete gives the feeling of being in New Zealand or summer Switzerland."

From Teacher Hsu's description, we can easily imagine what a pleasant region Boquete is, and it is precisely such a delightful place that grows high-quality coffee. The Boquete region is also home to many excellent estates, including the aforementioned Hacienda La Esmeralda, as well as Elida Estate, Kotowa Duncan Estate, and others that produce high-quality specialty coffee.

Besides estates, FrontStreet Coffee also offers a coffee from the Boquete region. Composed of 70% Geisha mixed with Caturra and Catuai, this coffee has become an excellent introductory Geisha with high cost-performance in many consumers' minds. This coffee bean, which offers exceptional value, has a very beautiful name - Flower Butterfly.

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama · Washed Flower Butterfly Coffee Beans

Coffee Region: Panama, Boquete
Altitude: 1,600 meters
Variety: Geisha, Caturra, Catuai
Processing Method: Washed

Flower Butterfly coffee consists of 70% Geisha variety, composed of three varieties: Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai. It is cultivated in the Barú volcano region of Boquete, growing in volcanic areas at 1,600 meters altitude. The processing plant uses fine washed processing methods. Panama's special local microclimate results in abundant rainfall in this region, combined with large day-night temperature differences, plus the unique volcanic soil of the region, as well as meticulous harvesting and fine processing, making this coffee perform excellently in body, acidity, and floral aromas.

Another important factor is that the microclimate in the highlands of Boquete, Panama, is a unique resource for specialty coffee in the Boquete region. This is due to Panama's east-to-west environment, which allows cold air currents to converge above 6,500 feet through the Central Mountains, creating multiple microclimates in the Boquete region, making its temperature and rainfall very suitable for plant growth. Therefore, coffee trees planted here grow very well.

Panama Coffee Varieties

What makes Geisha special is its very distinct and clear floral and citrus flavors, extremely high clarity, soft and elegant acidity, lasting and gentle sweetness, and a premium tea-like mouthfeel. The floral aromas and intense sweetness of tropical fruits create a unique floral and fruity character.

Caturra

Caturra is a variety of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. It has better production capacity and disease resistance than Bourbon, and the plant is shorter, making harvesting convenient. It has strong adaptability, doesn't require shade trees, and can thrive even when directly exposed to the sun, hence its nickname "Sun Coffee." Caturra is suitable for cultivation from 700 meters low altitude to 1,700 meters high altitude, showing strong altitude adaptability, but the higher the altitude, the better the flavor, though production capacity decreases accordingly. Caturra's characteristics are bright acidity and low to medium body. It has less clarity and sweetness than Bourbon, with citrusy or lemony acidity in flavor.

Catuai

Catuai is a hybrid variety of Mundo Novo and Caturra, with good resistance to natural disasters, especially wind and rain. It inherits the advantages of Caturra's short plant height, addressing the shortcomings of Mundo Novo. Another advantage is its solid fruit formation, which is less likely to fall off in strong winds, compensating for the delicate nature of Arabica coffee cherries.

Typica

Typica is one of the oldest varieties of Arabica coffee trees discovered today, with Bourbon being the other. Arabica originates from Ethiopia, where this variety still grows naturally in the local primary rainforest highlands. Typica beans are elongated, the tree is tall and elegant, the cherries are oval-shaped, and the branches are slightly inclined. Typica has four slender branches that spread outward at an angle of 50-70 degrees. The coffee yield per tree is very low, but cupping scores are very high.

FrontStreet Coffee's featured beans from Elida Estate, Panama · Elida Estate, are precisely of the Typica variety.

Elida Estate mainly cultivates three varieties: Catuai, Typica, and Geisha.

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama · Elida Estate Coffee Beans

Region: Boquete, Panama
Estate: Elida Estate
Altitude: 1,850 meters
Variety: Typica
Processing Method: Natural

Elida Estate is located in the Boquete region, with the estate's altitude being almost the highest in all of Panama. Furthermore, nearly half of its area is within a national protected park, making it a rare ultra-high-altitude estate in Central America! Elida Estate covers a total area of 65 hectares, with more than half located within Barú Volcano National Park. Of these, 30 hectares are planted with coffee trees, while the remaining 35 hectares are primary forest. Coffee is cultivated at altitudes from 1,670 to 1,850 meters, making it one of the two highest-altitude coffee estates in Panama (the other estate with such altitude should be Carmen Estate, located in the Volcán valley).

Coffee Processing Methods

Natural Processing

In natural processing, coffee cherries delivered to the washing station are first separated by hand to remove lower-density defective cherries. The qualified coffee cherries are then spread evenly on raised drying beds for sun-drying. The natural drying process takes approximately 21 days until the coffee cherries reach a moisture content of about 12%. After completing the natural drying process, a hulling machine removes the cherry's skin, pulp, and parchment before packaging and storage. FrontStreet Coffee believes that naturally processed coffee has the lowest acidity, highest sweetness, clearest mouthfeel, but slightly lower clarity. Flavor-wise, it produces more berry-like notes and is more complex.

Washed Processing

Today, there are many methods of washed processing, but generally, after coffee cherries are harvested, floating beans are removed, then the pulp is removed, and the coffee beans are soaked in fermentation tanks. Enzymes in the water soften the mucilage attached to the parchment inside the coffee beans, while natural yeast breaks down the sugars in the mucilage. This process is called fermentation. After fermentation is complete, the coffee beans are moved to drying patios to dry. During the drying process, the coffee beans need to be constantly turned to ensure even drying. Finally, they are stored in their parchment in the warehouse, and hulling and bagging are performed only after green bean suppliers place orders. Coffee processed this way has a clean mouthfeel, emphasizing bright, lively fruit acidity, as well as clear fruit flavors and floral aromas.

Since most Panamanian coffee consists of high-altitude grown beans with primarily acidic flavor profiles, FrontStreet Coffee's roasters use light to medium roasting. According to FrontStreet Coffee's brewing experience, harder coffee beans require higher water temperatures for brewing, with the aim of increasing extraction rate. Using a V60 dripper can bring out richer flavor layers in both coffees.

Dripper: V60
Water Temperature: 91-92°C
Coffee Dose: 15g
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Fine sugar size (80% passing through a #20 sieve)

Three-stage extraction: First, use 30g of water for bloom for 30 seconds. Second, pour 95g of hot water. When the coffee bed drops halfway, start the third pour of 100g until all coffee has finished dripping. Note to start pouring from the center point, using small, gentle circular movements throughout to avoid uneven extraction.

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