A Brief History of Panama Hartmann Estate Caturra Red Wine Processed Specialty Coffee Beans: Origin, Development, and Culture

Introduction to Hartmann Estate

The story of Hartmann is as legendary as its coffee. Hartmann Estate stands in Santa Clara, Chiriquí Province. Its founder was Mr. Alois St. Hartmann, known as Luis Hartmann. He was born on June 20, 1891, in the Moravia region of Austria-Hungary, in what is now the Czech Republic, and died on May 25, 1970, at the age of 78.

After World War I broke out, he was abandoned as a young boy. Thanks to his mother, he managed to hide on a ship bound for Pennsylvania in the United States and survived. Both of his brothers enlisted and died in the war. Luis Hartmann travelled with friends through several countries until he arrived in Panama in 1911, settling in Chiriquí Province in 1912 and working mainly in the Candela area. He built the first small cabin in that primeval forest.

Today Hartmann Estate is a family business, founded in 1940 by Ratibor Hartmann, son of Alois. In 1966 Ratibor married Dinora Sandi from Costa Rica. Together they had five children: Ratibor Jr., Allan, Alexander, Elisabeth and Kelly. Each family member takes responsibility for a different part of the operation, from cultivation management and harvest processing to estate tours. A family estate that has grown coffee for more than a century is a legend in its own right.

This family enterprise runs a state-level cupping laboratory and a sample roasting room. Every batch of beans is cupped with care, which keeps the quality of Hartmann Estate coffee consistent while the family keeps pushing for improvement. Their scientific approach, backed by nearly a century of family experience, is what guarantees the results.

A legendary estate with a state-level cupping laboratory and a sample roasting room. Their rigorous attitude and exacting standards are what keep Hartmann Estate's coffee consistent from lot to lot.

This batch is a red wine processed Caturra. The moment it is ground it releases an incredibly rich fruity, wine-like aroma, joined by fresh smoky wood spice and the particular berry sweetness that comes from sun-drying. Simply smelling it is intoxicating. On the palate, lush tropical fruit emerges, like a cocktail blended with passion fruit, mango, orange and berry juices alongside peach wine. No, this is a cocktail from nature itself.

Coffee Information

Country: Panama

Grade: SHG

Region: Volcán Region

Altitude: 1250-1700 Meters

Processing Method: Red Wine Processing

Variety: Caturra

Estate: Hartmann Estate

Flavor Notes: Smoky Wood Spices, Berries, Fruity Wine Aroma

Panama Hartmann Estate Caturra Red Wine Processing

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee | Ingredients: House-roasted | Shelf Life: 30 days | Net Weight: 227g | Packaging: Bulk | Taste Profile: Balanced | Bean State: Roasted | Sugar Content: Sugar-free | Origin: Panama | Coffee Type: Other | Roast Level: Medium Roast

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Panama's coffee belt runs through the western highlands near Costa Rica and close to the Pacific coast, and the volcanic soils of Boquete and Volcán are what give the country's best lots their depth. If the Hartmann lot's fruity, wine-like profile appeals to you, FrontStreet Coffee's Boquete washed Geisha is a natural next step. Grown at about 1,600 meters in the cloud-wrapped mountains of Boquete, where days are humid and nights are cool, it delivers the varietal's signature jasmine, green tea, honey, citrus and orange in the cup.

For a more affordable way into Panama's character, FrontStreet Coffee's Panama washed Butterfly is half Geisha by bloodline, made up of Geisha, Caturra and Catuai planted around the Baru Volcano in Boquete. The region's abundant rainfall, wide day-night temperature swings and distinctive volcanic rock soil, combined with careful picking and precise processing, give the cup real body, citrus acidity and the jasmine aroma Geisha is famous for. It works well as both a pour-over and a cold brew.

If you want the highest grade Panama can offer, FrontStreet Coffee's Esmeralda Red Label Geisha is harvested from a single plot above 1,700 meters and must cup at 91 points, showing a refined orange-blossom and honey character. FrontStreet Coffee's Diamond Mountain from Hacienda La Esmeralda, planted mainly to Caturra and Catuai on the Jaramillo and Cañas Verdes farms, offers the estate's fruit-driven aromatics and sweetness in a more everyday format, and it is one of the estate's most popular labels beyond Geisha.