Panama Hartmann Estate Coffee Beans Red Wine Processing Method - Origin Characteristics, Flavor Profile, and Varieties Introduction

Panama Hartmann Black Winey

■ Country: Panama

■ Grade: SHG

■ Region: Volcán Region

■ Altitude: 1250-1700 Meters

■ Processing Method: Black Winey Process

■ Variety: Catuai

■ Estate: Hartmann Estate

FrontStreet Coffee believes that Panama is one of the world's finest coffee-producing countries. It became globally known in 2004 for Geisha coffee (also known as "Gesha"), but before that, Panama coffee remained on the fringes of specialty coffee, not receiving significant attention from the international coffee community. The Geisha variety cultivated by the Peterson family is now popular worldwide. FrontStreet Coffee believes this coffee variety has enormous commercial potential. Combined with the fact that Panama's specialty coffee estates enjoy reasonable labor regulations and wage protection locally, it was inevitable that this momentum would create a resurgence on the world coffee map. However, what FrontStreet Coffee finds ironic is that as Americans increasingly buy vacation homes in Panama, the resulting commercial development threatens to swallow the country's coffee-growing farmland, causing Panama's coffee production to decline year by year, with coffee prices soaring ever higher.

About Panama Coffee

Panama coffee originated in 1780 when Europeans brought the first Typica trees. Afterward, locals began widespread cultivation. In terms of flavor, FrontStreet Coffee considers Panama coffee very smooth, with full-bodied, lightweight beans that offer rich citrus aroma, jasmine fragrance, almond and mango notes, and nectar-like sweetness. The fruit acidity is bright and complex! Its high-quality coffee beans feature pure and distinctive flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that a key reason for Panama coffee's unique quality is its microclimate. Bordering Costa Rica and Colombia, Panama's east-west environment allows cold air currents to flow through the central mountains and converge above 6,500 feet, creating a very unique microclimate in the Boquete and Volcán Candela regions, making them the main coffee-producing areas of Panama. The surrounding land is nutrient-rich, and these fertile soils provide perfect growing conditions for coffee, shaping numerous unique, high-quality coffees. Additionally, with the help of the world's largest coffee-consuming country—the United States—Panama's coffee processing technology is among the most advanced in Central America.

Furthermore, because many Panama coffee farm owners are wealthy families who immigrated from the United States to enjoy rural life, Panama's farms enjoy the dual advantages of innate natural ecology and acquired management resources, making them extremely suitable for developing sophisticated agriculture. This creates a stark contrast with the production reduction caused by commercial development from American immigrants mentioned earlier, so FrontStreet Coffee believes this has become a double-edged sword for Panama coffee development.

Panama Coffee Association (SCAP)

FrontStreet Coffee believes that the Panama Coffee Association (SCAP) played a key role in helping Panama stand out among the large coffee-exporting countries of Central and South America. In 1996, during a period of low international coffee prices and coffee tree pest and disease infestations, coffee estate owners from Boquete and Volcán regions—including Ricardo from Kotowa Estate, Wilford from Elida Estate, Francisco from Don Pachi Estate, and Daniel and Rachel siblings from Esmeralda Estate—initiated the Panama Coffee Association to share and learn cultivation and processing techniques and hold the BOP competition.

Panama Coffee Grading System

Strictly High Grown (SHG): Over 1300 meters.

High Grown (HG): 1220-1300 meters.

Central Standard (CS): Cultivated above 600 meters altitude.

Panama Coffee Regions Introduction

Panama's specialty coffee production areas are concentrated in the western Chiriquí province. The Boquete region within Chiriquí province is Panama's oldest and most famous coffee-producing area, home to estates like Jaramillo and Hacienda La Esmeralda. This location not only has volcanic fertile soil but is also shrouded in mist, keeping temperatures moderate with abundant annual rainfall—creating the perfect growing environment for Arabica coffee trees, which explains why the coffee quality is so exceptional!

Boquete Coffee Region

Boquete is a high-altitude mountainous area with cultivation heights of 1450m, where its mountainous terrain creates many microclimates. The local fertile soil, high terrain, cold humid air, sunlight variations, and abundant rainfall produce coffee in large quantities with excellent quality, making it the region with the highest production and best quality coffee in Panama. Rivers flow through it, creating high-quality Panama specialty coffee. FrontStreet Coffee believes that because Boquete easily develops fog, it suppresses temperature rises, and combined with special geographical conditions, this gives coffee excellent quality and characteristics. The Boquete region has comprehensive infrastructure including roads and processing facilities. As a coffee production area, it has a complete natural environment and has recently become popular for tourism value, gradually causing many operators to abandon their farms and embrace new business opportunities—this is the current situation of Panama coffee production. The refined processing method for Panama coffee uses traditional washed processing. First, the pulp is removed, then the fruits wrapped in parchment are placed in water tanks for fermentation, and finally undergo traditional washing. For the drying process, the simplest sun-drying method is used.

■ Altitude: 400-1,900m

■ Harvest Season: December~March

■ Varieties: Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon, Gesha, San Ramon

■ Flavor Description: Walnut, chocolate, full-bodied, heavy oily sensation

Volcán-Candela Region

The Volcán-Candela region borders Costa Rica, named after Volcán Barú volcano and Piedra Candela city. This region produces most of Panama's food and some amazing coffees. The region is named after Barú volcano and Piedra Candela city and borders Costa Rica.

■ Altitude: 1200-1600m

■ Harvest Season: December~March

■ Varieties: Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon, Gesha, San Ramon

■ Flavor Description: Mild and balanced flavors are gradually gaining attention from international connoisseurs and coffee enthusiasts, nearly on par with the Boquete region.

Volcán Region

When it comes to Panama's coffee traditions, the specialty coffee regions that most people are familiar with come from Boquete, but in recent years, coffee from the Volcán region has gradually emerged in the specialty market, with quite a few estates entering the Best of Panama competition and even winning championships. The Volcán region generally has less average annual rainfall than Boquete, and its geographical location on the west side of Barú volcano also gives coffee more intense dried fruit flavors, sweetness, and aroma compared to the Boquete region.

In the early days, the Volcán area mostly grew cash crops like fruits and vegetables, with very few farmers growing coffee. Among the pioneers of coffee cultivation in the Volcán region was the well-known Hartmann family in Panama.

Hartmann Estate

Hartmann is Panama's most prestigious coffee family and the earliest farm to grow coffee in the Volcán region. They place extreme importance on quality and actively try new farming practices. The elder Hartmann, Ratibor Hartmann Troetsch, inherited his father's coffee business in Santa Clara, Volcán area, and established Hartmann Estate in the 1940s, making him a pioneer of the rising Volcán coffee-producing region.

The Volcán and Boquete regions are on opposite sides of Barú volcano—one on the east side, one on the west side; one facing the Atlantic, one facing the Pacific. The coffee flavors from these two areas are quite different. What makes the elder Hartmann most special is his respect for the natural environment. His father purchased 500 hectares of land, most of which was actually forest. After inheriting the farm, Hartmann's friends advised him to cut down all the forest and plant coffee on a large scale to make money. Hartmann didn't follow his friends' advice but instead preserved most of the original forest. Starting with the elder Hartmann, they became academic research partners with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and other wildlife conservation organizations. Scholars came to conduct research on the estate, discovering many protected species and birds, not only writing academic papers but also recording bird calls.

The third generation of Hartmanns grew up on the estate, not only continuing the elder Hartmann's coffee plantations but also the family's active attitude toward forest conservation—even using "Bird Friendly" wording on their estate trademark. Hartmann Estate is located in the Barú volcano region, with nutrient-rich volcanic soil. Tall original forests provide the perfect shade-growing environment. Shade-grown coffee grows more slowly, allowing for greater sweetness development and brighter acidity. The Chiriqui Volcán high-altitude microclimate also provides an excellent foundation for Hartmann coffee. The planted varieties are very diverse: Typica, Caturra, Catuaí, Bourbon, Paché, Pacamara, Maragogipe, and in recent years, more Geisha has been planted.

The Legendary History of Hartmann Estate

Hartmann's story is as legendary as its coffee. Hartmann Estate is located in Santa Clara, Chiriquí Province. The founder was Mr. Alois St. Hartmann (Luis Hartmann). He was born on June 20, 1891, in the Moravia region of Austria-Hungary, now the Czech Republic; he died on May 25, 1970, at the age of 78. When World War I began, he was still a small boy and was abandoned. Thanks to his mother, he survived by hiding on a ship bound for Pennsylvania, USA.

His two brothers both died in the war after joining the military. Luis Hartmann traveled through several countries with his friends until he came to Panama in 1911 and settled in Chiriquí Province in 1912, mainly active in the Candela region. He built the first small cabin in this primeval forest. Today's Hartmann Estate is a family business founded in 1940 by Ratibor Hartmann (son of Alois).

In 1966, Ratibor married Dinora Sandi from Costa Rica. They had five children: little Ratibor, Alan, Alexander, Alice, and Kelly. Each family member takes responsibility for coffee growing management, harvesting and processing, and estate tours. This family business has a state-level cupping laboratory and sample roasting room. They cup each batch of coffee fruits with rigorous attitudes and strict standards. This ensures stable quality of Hartmann Estate coffee and continuous pursuit of improvement. Their scientific approach to coffee and nearly 100 years of family experience guarantee their excellent products—a family estate that has grown coffee for over 100 years is itself a legendary story.

The Hartmann family also manages and processes coffee for many Panama estates, such as Finca La Mula, a regular winner in Best of Panama, and 90+ estates in Panama, all under Hartmann family management. Although the estate maintains a low profile and rarely appears in Best of Panama, their coffee is among Panama's finest. The Hartmann family's contribution to Panama coffee's current fame is undeniable.

Coffee Bean Processing Methods

Coffee Bean Black Winey Process

In 2015, WBC competitor Sasa introduced to the world a Colombian coffee bean processed through a method similar to red wine fermentation. Besides the novel taste of the beans, the "Black Winey Process" used to treat the beans made FrontStreet Coffee's colleagues and many coffee enthusiasts equally curious. What exactly is this so-called "Black Winey Process"? Traditional coffee processing methods like washed, natural, and honey processing are familiar to many, but what is the coffee bean Black Winey Process?

The coffee bean Black Winey Process, also called wine-like processing, draws inspiration from red wine fermentation techniques. FrontStreet Coffee broadly categorizes Black Winey Process types into:

Acetic fermentation (Aerobic fermentation)

Lactic fermentation (Anaerobic fermentation)

Mixed fermentation (Mix Fermentation = Aerobic + Anaerobic)

Traditional processing methods make it difficult to control the variable fermentation degree of coffee beans. However, the Black Winey Process can ensure coffee bean quality by controlling pH values, and even temperature and humidity, while sealed fermentation prevents aromatic substances from easily volatilizing.

Black Winey Process Fermentation Procedure

1. First, coffee farmers carefully harvest coffee cherries, meticulously selecting red coffee fruits to ensure that among the selected coffee cherries for processing, the ratio of unripe cherries is less than 2%, defective beans less than 3%, and floaters less than 5%.

2. The selected coffee cherries are placed in specific containers (when Australian barista Sasa competed, the beans being processed were placed in metal containers). In any case, this container should have a device similar to a red wine fermentation lock or a one-way exhaust valve. This allows carbon dioxide to escape through this device to control the air concentration inside the container. At this time, the coffee cherries in the container undergo acetic fermentation, which produces beans with relatively bright, clean flavors and lemon-like acidity.

According to Sasa's description during the competition, the processor injects carbon dioxide into the container to prevent oxidation from forming volatile acids. This process is lactic fermentation, which produces malic acid and tartaric acid. Since tartaric acid is relatively stable, beans from lactic fermentation have richer acidity with cheese, nut, and cream flavors.

Coffee Variety - Catuai

Catuai is also an Arabica hybrid variety, a cross between Mundo Novo and Caturra. It has better resistance to natural disasters, particularly wind and rain resistance. It inherits Caturra's advantage of short plant height, addressing Mundo Novo's shortcomings. Another advantage is its solid fruit setting, making it less likely to fall off in strong winds, compensating for the delicate nature of Arabica fruit. However, its overall flavor performance is more monotonous than Caturra and also more monotonous and less full-bodied than Mundo Novo, which is its greatest regret. Additionally, its fruit growth and harvest life is only about ten years, making the short lifespan another weakness.

Catuai comes in red fruit (Catuai Amerelo) and yellow fruit (Catuai Vermelho) varieties. The fruits can be either red or yellow, but so far, no yellow fruit has been found to taste better than red fruit. Instead, some people have found in cupping that although some yellow fruit processed coffee has good acidity, the cleanliness of the coffee taste is inferior to red fruit. Statistically, red Catuai more often wins awards.

Because Caturra has high yield and is less susceptible to pests and diseases but has poor taste and flavor, Catuai was developed based on Caturra to improve these shortcomings of poor taste and flavor.

Roasting Analysis

Panama Hartmann Estate coffee beans are relatively small with slightly higher density and moderate moisture content. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting target is light-medium roast, unlike the medium roast used for other Panama beans. This Hartmann Black Winey Process uses light-medium roast to preserve excellent acidity, tropical fruit flavors, and wine-like fermentation notes, with overall performance being sweet, well-rounded, fresh, and elegant.

In the first batch of roasting, the drop-in temperature was relatively high at 200°C with relatively high heat. During the roasting process, it was found that this bean's altitude is not particularly high, but the bean density is rather hard, so a gradual heat reduction and stable climb roasting approach was adopted. The heat was adjusted finer when the beans entered the yellowing point, completed dehydration, and showed first crack signs, to avoid surface scorching. The beans were discharged between dense first crack and the end of first crack, shortening the caramelization reaction time to preserve flavor cleanliness and floral and fruit aromas.

Yangjia 600g Semi-direct Fire Roaster

Heat drum to 200°C, air damper at 3. After 30s, adjust heat to 170°C, air damper unchanged. Return to temperature point at 1'39", maintain heat. At 4'57", bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, entering dehydration stage, reduce heat to 130°C, maintain air damper at 3.5.

At 8'00", dehydration completed, reduce heat to 80°C. At 8'00", bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, toast aroma clearly transforms to coffee aroma, can be defined as prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 8'43", first crack begins, reduce heat to 60°C, fully open air damper to 5 (heat adjustment must be very careful, not so small as to eliminate crackling sounds). Develop for 1'43" after first crack, discharge at 195.5°C.

Cupping Report

Brewing Analysis

Dripper: V60 Dripper

Coffee Dose: Approximately 15g

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Medium-fine grind (sugar-sized)

Brewing Method: First pour 25g water, bloom for 25 seconds. Second pour to 120g water, stop pouring. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to halfway, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g water. Extraction time approximately 2:00.

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