Panama Butterfly Coffee Bean: Flavor Profile, Varieties, Growing Regions, Price, and Brewing Process

The Rise of Geisha Coffee: From Obscurity to Fame

In the past, top-tier coffee beans were dominated by FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaican Blue Mountain and FrontStreet Coffee's Hawaiian Kona. As times changed, coffee enthusiasts began pursuing specialty coffee with more intense floral and fruit aromas, along with a cleaner taste profile. FrontStreet Coffee's Geisha coffee beans successfully dethroned FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain and FrontStreet Coffee's Kona, becoming the new generation of premium coffee beans. Consequently, Geisha coffee bean prices have soared, with their green bean auction prices breaking previous records year after year. Despite this, coffee lovers continue to complain about the prices while honestly reaching for their wallets, all for a chance to experience the exquisite charm of Geisha coffee.

The Journey of Geisha Coffee

Geisha coffee originated in Ethiopia but gained fame in Panama. In the 1930s, the Geisha coffee variety was discovered in the Geisha forest, then sent to Kenya's National Coffee Research Institute. After several transfers, it made its way to Uganda and Tanzania. In 1953, it arrived at CATIE Agricultural Research Institute in Costa Rica, where it was designated as T2722. It was introduced to Panama in the 1970s. After decades of quiet cultivation, Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda sent Geisha coffee to compete in the Best of Panama (BOP) competition. It began to gain attention in 2003 and won the championship in 2004, setting a new record for green bean auction prices. Since then, Geisha coffee's reputation has soared, with its popularity continuously rising.

Panama: The Kingdom of Geisha

Panama is a Central American country, bordering Costa Rica to the west and Colombia to the east. Those familiar with single-origin coffee know that Panama coffee is famous in the coffee world for Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha variety. It can be said to be a country that pursues excellence in coffee and produces high-quality beans. Due to Geisha coffee's exceptionally unique flavor profile, seemingly from heaven itself, the BOP competition specially created two categories: Geisha and Non-Geisha, to prevent Geisha from overshadowing other coffee varieties.

While premium Geisha coffee is associated with renowned estates like Hacienda La Esmeralda, Finca Deborah, and Elida Estate, FrontStreet Coffee sources Geisha coffee beans from various regions, including Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, and others. Everyone knows that premium estate Geisha coffee beans are expensive. While occasional tasting might be manageable, using them as daily coffee would be quite a burden on the wallet.

FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Geisha: Flower Butterfly

If you pay attention to FrontStreet Coffee's bean list, you'll notice that FrontStreet Coffee offers an exceptional value Panama Geisha coffee bean with a beautiful name—FrontStreet Coffee's Flower Butterfly.

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Natural Process Flower Butterfly Coffee Beans

Region: Panama, Boquete Region
Altitude: 1600 meters
Variety: 70% Geisha, Caturra, Catuai
Processing: Natural Process

Panama's Boquete region is quite famous, situated near the border between Panama and Costa Rica, close to the renowned Baru Volcano. With its beautiful scenery, fertile soil, and ideal climate, this region is perfect for producing high-quality coffee. Many excellent estates are located here, including Hacienda La Esmeralda, Elida Estate, and Kotowa Duncan Estate, all of which are well-known. This demonstrates Panama Boquete's superior ecological conditions and fertile planting soil.

Another important factor is the unique microclimate found in Panama's Boquete highlands, which is an invaluable resource for the region's specialty coffee. Panama's east-west environment causes cold air currents to converge above 6,500 feet through the Central Mountains, creating multiple microclimates in the Boquete area. These conditions make the temperature and rainfall perfect for plant growth, allowing coffee trees planted here to thrive exceptionally well.

The Unique Composition of Flower Butterfly

Panama's Geisha coffee is so famous that many coffee enthusiasts overlook other coffee varieties. However, Panama's Boquete region, with its unique natural advantages, produces coffee with exceptionally distinctive flavors. FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Boquete Flower Butterfly coffee beans contain 70% premium Geisha lineage, composed of three varieties: Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai. Grown in the Baru Volcano region of Boquete at 1600 meters altitude, the processing plant uses refined washed processing. Panama's special microclimate provides abundant rainfall and significant day-night temperature differences. Combined with the region's unique volcanic soil and meticulous harvesting and processing, this FrontStreet Coffee Boquete Flower Butterfly coffee performs exceptionally well in body, acidity, and floral notes.

The area where this FrontStreet Coffee Flower Butterfly coffee is cultivated also raises bees, and wild butterflies are commonly seen circling the mountain peaks. Even more surprisingly, despite its excellent quality, this FrontStreet Coffee Panama Flower Butterfly coffee bean is very affordable, offering exceptional value. With 70% Geisha variety content, this FrontStreet Coffee Panama Boquete Flower Butterfly coffee bean displays very distinct Geisha coffee characteristics.

Single Origin or Blend?

Coffee enthusiasts who are not entirely clear about single-origin coffee concepts might wonder: Is FrontStreet Coffee's Flower Butterfly a blend? Due to historical reasons at the estate, when pursuing higher yields, early Geisha varieties were mixed with Caturra and Catuai coffee trees. To facilitate harvesting, coffee farmers later distinguished the three varieties but directly mixed them during export to achieve the desired rich flavor profile.

Some might see three varieties listed and conclude it's not a single-origin bean. However, it's important to note that FrontStreet Coffee's Boquete Flower Butterfly coffee beans' three varieties are all grown and produced in the same origin. Therefore, even though FrontStreet Coffee's Boquete Flower Butterfly is created by blending three coffee varieties, it still qualifies as a single-origin coffee bean!

Roasting and Brewing

Panama Geisha coffee features clear floral notes, honey-like sweetness, and citrus tones. FrontStreet Coffee's roasters, to highlight these characteristics, use a medium-light roast, shortening the Maillard reaction time and following a faster roasting curve. Due to the beans' high density and hardness, they start with high heat for dehydration, then reduce the heat before first crack to enter first crack with lower temperature rise. This approach preserves the loss of small molecular aromatic substances like floral notes, maintaining Geisha's unique floral, caramel, and honey characteristics without damaging them.

Recommended Brewing Parameters

When brewing this FrontStreet Coffee Panama Flower Butterfly coffee bean, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a V60 dripper, 92°C water temperature, and medium-fine grind.

Dripper: Hario V60
Water Temperature: 92°C
Coffee Amount: 15 grams
Water-to-Coffee Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Chinese standard #20 sieve, 80% pass-through

First, pour 30g of water to fully saturate the coffee grounds and bloom for 30 seconds. Starting from the center, pour with a small stream in slow circular motions to 125g. When the water level in the dripper drops to just above the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g. Total extraction time should be approximately 2 minutes.

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Important Notice :

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