Panama - Hacienda La Esmeralda Diamond Mountain

Panama La Esmeralda Diamond Mountain

Introduction to Coffee Cultivation at Hacienda La Esmeralda

Hacienda La Esmeralda is located in the outskirts of Boquete in southwestern Panama. When it was first established, it was a diversified farm, and coffee cultivation was only part of the farm's overall economic activity, which also included dairy cattle raising and citrus cultivation. What particularly draws attention to Hacienda La Esmeralda is that at the end of the 20th century, the farm owner, the Peterson (Peterson) family,偶然 discovered a coffee variety with tremendous potential: GEISHA. After careful cultivation and planting, starting in 2004, this variety won a series of championships in coffee competitions for several consecutive years, establishing Hacienda La Esmeralda's unshakable king-like status in the global coffee market.

2002 was a turning point for Hacienda La Esmeralda, thanks to Mr. Peterson's youngest son, Daniel Peterson, who believed that the coffee grown across the entire estate (divided into two major areas - the original Hacienda La Esmeralda southwest of Boquete and the Jaramillo farm incorporated in 1996) had always been harvested and sold as a blend. Although the overall quality was rated well, that extremely elegant citrus fruit aroma and sweetness should have come from certain outstanding coffee beans on the farm. So he began conducting cupping comparisons of each cultivation area within the estate one by one, and finally discovered that in several higher-altitude valleys within the Jaramillo area, the coffee harvested from these tall, thin trees with low yields had excellent cupping flavor. After some inquiry, he learned that these varieties, which thrive at high altitude and low temperatures, were the later famous GEISHA (Geisha)~JaramilloIn 2004, Hacienda La Esmeralda entered these special coffees in the Best of Panama (BOP) cupping competition. Geisha's unique aroma and full-bodied mouthfeel astonished the judges, and it won the "Best of Panama" championship title, setting a historical record at that year's auction of USD $21 dollars a pound (price of 21 US dollars per pound)! This competition brought Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha coffee tremendous attention from the specialty coffee world! It then went on to take the

championship~BOPin 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010.

Other award records of Hacienda La Esmeralda:

Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) Cupping Competition Champion (2007, 2006, 2005)

Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) Coffee of the Year, Second Place (2009, 2008)

Best of Panama Champion (2010, 2009, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004)

Rainforest Alliance Coffee Quality Cupping Competition Champion (2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004)

Today, Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda is the most award-winning coffee estate in the world~

The Relationship Between Hacienda La Esmeralda and Diamond Mountain

From winning consecutive championships starting in 2004 to beginning independent auction bidding in 2008, Hacienda La Esmeralda set countless record-breaking high prices, and the concepts of "Red Label" and "Green Label" have long been deeply rooted in people's minds. In recent years, in addition to shining with its top-tier products, the estate has actually also launched some approachable offerings, one of which is the Diamond Mountain series introduced by Front Street Coffee.

The Front Street Diamond Mountain series (Diamond Mountain) is grown on the outskirts of the Boquete production area to the right of Baru Volcano,Canas Verdes and on the outlying hillsides of the Jaramillo area, at an altitude of approximately 1400-1600M. The coffee grown in this area is mainly Typica, Bourbon, and Catuai. The volcanic soil in this area is an excellent location for growing coffee, and the primary forest also provides sufficient shade for the coffee trees. Such exceptional conditions give the green coffee beans produced here rich and complex fruit aromas, chocolate, and fresh spice flavors.

In addition to producing high-quality green coffee beans, Hacienda La Esmeralda Diamond Mountain also continuously pursues and practices renewable operations. The entire estate holds Rainforest Alliance certification, ensuring that bird and wildlife habitats are not damaged by human activity. During green bean processing, wastewater is also recycled and reused, ensuring that the water source is clean and safe, forming a self-sufficient coffee estate ecosystem.

A Well-Known Hacienda La Esmeralda Product — Diamond Mountain

Geographical Environment: Diamond Mountain is another star-level brand under Hacienda La Esmeralda. The variety is mainly Catuai. This green coffee is harvested from Jaramillo and Canas Verdes, two of the four independent farms under Hacienda La Esmeralda. The volcanic soil of these two independent farms is an excellent condition for growing coffee, and the primary forest also provides sufficient shade for the coffee trees. Because of such exceptional conditions, the green coffee beans produced have rich fruit aromas and sweetness, making it another highly popular independent brand of Hacienda La Esmeralda besides Geisha.

We know that the taste of coffee is largely determined by variety, and the refined flavor of Geisha coffee is precisely what made that variety widely popular, while the variety of Diamond Mountain is Catuai, which is prevalent in many Central and South American countries.

 

So the Catuai variety combines the advantages of both: high yield, disease resistance, clean and bright. At the same time, compared with Bourbon, Catuai's yield is extremely high. One reason is that the plant is small, allowing the spacing between plants to be shortened. Catuai's planting density is almost twice that of Bourbon.

The quality of Front Street Diamond Mountain coffee comes not only from its superior growing environment and high-yielding variety, but one of its advantages is also related to Hacienda La Esmeralda's mature processing techniques. At Hacienda La Esmeralda, workers wash the harvested ripe coffee cherries and then send them directly to the courtyard, where they are evenly spread out to dry. Just as is characteristic of natural coffee, because the pulp is retained during drying, the coffee beans absorb its sugars and develop more fruit and fermentation aromas.

 

Guardiola is a drying method often used by Hacienda La Esmeralda. As long as the size of the coffee cherries allows, Guardiola can process a large amount of coffee at the same time. Guardiola is a horizontally rotating drum that allows warm air to flow around the beans, thereby eliminating moisture and reducing the probability of mold. After the coffee beans are dried, they are placed in nylon bags and stored in the warehouse for 30 to 45 days. This step is also called "reposo," which helps stabilize the coffee beans and improve the flavor in the cup.

Hacienda La Esmeralda — Front Street Diamond Mountain Series Coffee Flavor Description

By observing the green beans of the naturally processed Diamond Mountain, Front Street notes that the color is somewhat yellow, and naturally processed green beans also have more silver skin on the surface. Catuai beans are flat in shape, with relatively slender ends. To retain more of the red berry character in the coffee beans, Front Street's roaster adopted a medium-light roast level to present this Diamond Mountain. Now let's brew a cup and taste how it is.

Front Street Coffee's Diamond Mountain Brewing Recommendations

Grind size: medium-fine grind (80% passing through a Chinese standard No. 20 sieve)