Flavor Profile and Processing Methods of Panama Butterfly Coffee Beans: Origin Region and Variety Introduction

The Rise of Geisha Coffee: From Ethiopia to Global Fame

In the past, top-tier coffee beans were dominated by Blue Mountain and Kona. As times evolved, coffee enthusiasts began pursuing specialty coffee with more intense floral and fruity aromas and cleaner, more refreshing profiles. Geisha coffee beans successfully dethroned Blue Mountain and Kona, becoming the new generation of premium coffee beans. Consequently, Geisha coffee prices have skyrocketed, with green bean auction prices breaking records year after year. Despite this, coffee lovers continue to complain about the prices while honestly opening their wallets, all for a chance to experience the exquisite charm of Geisha coffee.

Origins and Journey of Geisha Coffee

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

Panama: The Perfect Home for 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 renowned in the coffee world for Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha variety. It can be said that Panama is a country that pursues coffee excellence and produces high-quality coffee. Due to the truly unique flavor profile of Geisha coffee—seemingly from heaven—the BOP competition specially divided coffee beans into two categories: Geisha and Non-Geisha groups, to prevent Geisha from overshadowing other coffee varieties.

While premium Geisha coffee is associated with renowned estates like Hacienda La Esmeralda, Deborah Farm, and Elida Estate, FrontStreet Coffee sources Geisha coffee beans from different regions, including Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, and others. Everyone knows that Geisha coffee beans from top estates are expensive. While occasional tasting might be manageable, using it as a daily coffee would significantly strain one's budget.

FrontStreet Coffee's Mariposa: Exceptional Value

If you pay attention to FrontStreet Coffee's bean list, you'll notice that FrontStreet Coffee offers a Panamanian Geisha coffee bean with exceptional value—the Mariposa, which has a beautiful name meaning "butterfly."

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Natural Process Mariposa Coffee Beans

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

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

Another important factor is the unique microclimate in Panama's Boquete highlands, which is a crucial resource making Boquete's specialty coffee distinctive. Panama's east-to-west environmental pattern causes cold air currents to converge above 6,500 feet through the central mountain range, creating multiple microclimates in the Boquete area. These conditions make the temperature and rainfall perfect for plant growth, so coffee trees planted here thrive exceptionally well.

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

The area where this Mariposa coffee is cultivated also hosts beekeeping, with wild butterflies visible everywhere, circling the mountain tops. Even more surprisingly, despite its excellent quality, this Mariposa coffee bean is very affordably priced, offering outstanding value. With 70% Geisha variety content, this coffee bean carries distinct Geisha coffee flavor characteristics.

Understanding the Mariposa Blend

Some coffee enthusiasts who aren't clear about single-origin coffee concepts might wonder: Is Mariposa a blend? Due to the estate's historical reasons, when pursuing yield in the past, early Geisha varieties were mixed-planted with Caturra and Catuai coffee trees. To facilitate harvesting, coffee farmers later categorized the three varieties and mixed them directly during export processing to achieve the desired rich flavor profile.

Some might see three varieties listed and conclude it's not a single-origin bean. Here, it's important to note that all three varieties in Mariposa coffee beans are grown and produced in the same origin. Therefore, even though Mariposa is a blend of three coffee varieties, it still qualifies as a single-origin coffee bean!

Roasting and Brewing Recommendations

Panama's Geisha coffee features clear floral notes, honey-like sweetness, and citrus tones. FrontStreet Coffee's roaster uses a medium-light roast to highlight these characteristics, shortening the Maillard reaction time and following a relatively faster roasting curve. Due to the beans' high density and hardness, the process starts with high heat for dehydration, then reduces temperature before first crack to preserve the loss of small molecular aromatic substances like floral notes, maintaining Geisha's characteristic floral, caramel, and honey profiles.

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

Brewing Parameters:

Dripper: Hario V60
Water Temperature: 92°C
Coffee Dose: 15 grams
Ratio: 1:15 (coffee to water)
Grind Size: 80% pass-through through China standard #20 sieve

First, pour 30g of water to fully saturate the coffee grounds and let it bloom for 30 seconds. Then, pour from the center with a small water stream, slowly circling to 125g. Wait until the water level in the dripper drops to just about to expose the coffee bed, then continue pouring to 225g. The total extraction time should be approximately 2 minutes.

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Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473