So what does arabica coffee mean for a Panama lot?
Arabica names the coffee species that includes Catuai, Typica, Bourbon, and many others, and it is the species behind most specialty lots. Panama Fuego Stone Estate honey-processed Catuai is one example, grown in the Boquete region of Chiriquí Province and known for lemon, orange, cranberry, and green tea notes with soft florals and a lingering sweet finish.
The arabica beans meaning is partly botanical and partly practical: trees generally thrive at higher elevations, and in Panama only coffee grown between 1,300 and 1,500 meters qualifies as specialty. Catuai itself was bred in Brazil as a Mundo Novo and Caturra cross, named from an indigenous phrase for very good, and it yields well compared with older Arabica types.
As a specialty coffee-producing country, Panama is renowned for the coffee grown in the Boquete region of Chiriquí Province in its west. The honey-processed Catuai from Fuego Stone Estate has become a favorite among many coffee lovers, thanks to its complex flavors of lemon, orange, cranberry, and green tea, along with soft floral notes and a lingering sweet aftertaste. This article will guide you through the origins and characteristics of the Catuai variety, outline Panama's main coffee-producing regions, and share Front Street Coffee's pour-over brewing method for this bean, covering grind size, water temperature, and pouring rhythm step by step, helping you recreate a clean and smooth Panamanian flavor at home.
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The Catuai variety was first successfully bred in Brazil and is now widely seen across Central America.
Panama's high-quality coffee is mainly grown on the western side of the country, near Costa Rica and facing the Pacific Ocean. Among these, the Boquete region in Chiriquí Province is the most famous for its coffee, while Volcan, Santa Clara, and Candela also enjoy excellent reputations. Additionally, there are the David, Renacimiento, Bugaba, and Tolé regions. By standard, only coffee grown at altitudes between 1,300 and 1,500 meters can be classified as specialty coffee.
“Catuai” is a cross between Mundo Novo and Caturra, making it a second-generation hybrid. On one hand, it inherits the shorter tree stature of Caturra; on the other hand, the variety name Catuai comes from an indigenous language, meaning “very good.” As a member of the Arabica family, Catuai has relatively high yields.
This time, I'll brew Front Street's Panama Fuego Stone Estate using the pour-over method. Take 15g of coffee, medium grind (4 on a Fuji Royal R-220 ghost tooth grinder), use a V60 dripper, and control the water temperature at 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 27 seconds. Then pour until the total reaches 105g and stop. Wait for the water level in the coffee bed to drop halfway before continuing to pour slowly until the total water reaches 225g. Discard the final drips. The water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, and the extraction time is 2:00.
Factory Name: Coffee Workshop Factory Address: Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), No. 10 Baoqian Street, Yandun Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou City Manufacturer Contact: 020-38364473 Shelf Life: 90 Net Content: 227g Packaging: Bulk Coffee Beans Roast Level: Roasted Coffee Beans Sugar Content: Unsweetened Origin: Panama Roast Level: Medium Roast
Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Panama Fuego Stone Estate Honey-Processed Catuai
Panama Jurutungo Honey Caruai
Country: Panama
Grade: SHB
Region: Fuego Stone Region
Roast Level: Medium Roast
Processing Method: Honey Process
Variety: Catuai
Processing Plant: Fuego Stone Estate
Flavor: Lemon, Orange, Cranberry, Green Tea
Cupping Notes: Dried fruit aroma, rich fruity acidity, distinct sweetness on entry, lemon, orange, cranberry, green tea, uniform and smooth texture, soft with some floral notes, and a sweet aftertaste that lingers,
Catuai:
Catuai is a coffee variety artificially hybridized and selected from Caturra and Mondu Novo. It performs well in resisting natural disasters, especially wind and rain.
The Catuai tree is relatively short. Compared to other coffee tree species, its cherries attach more firmly and are harder to remove during picking. The cherries come in red and yellow colors. Currently, there is no evidence that yellow cherries taste better than red ones. On the contrary, some cupping results show that although certain yellow cherries have decent acidity after processing, their cleanliness in the cup is not as good as red cherries.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
