How does geisha coffee fit into Hacienda Esmeralda's other varieties?

Hacienda Esmeralda in Boquete, Panama, is known for geisha coffee, but the estate also grows Caturra and Catuai and sells them under the Diamond Mountain and Palmyra brands. The Diamond Mountain series uses natural processing, with growing altitudes of 1400-1700 meters.

The estate was bought by Rudolph Peterson in 1964, and his son Price introduced Caturra and Catuai in 1987 before a wet processing plant was built in 1994. Geisha trees were originally planted as windbreaks; their floral aroma was noticed only during harvest, which led to the variety's later fame.

Hacienda Esmeralda is not only famous for its Geisha; its Caturra and Catuai varieties also attract considerable attention. This article will guide you through the Diamond Mountain series' origin background, variety characteristics, natural processing method, as well as Front Street Coffee's green bean analysis, roasting records, and cupping report. By comparing the plant characteristics and flavor performance of Caturra and Catuai, we help coffee enthusiasts better understand this classic series. At the same time, the article also shares Front Street's brewing insights, including filter cup selection, parameter settings, and the three-stage extraction method, providing a reference for your daily brewing.

When it comes to Hacienda Esmeralda, the first thing everyone thinks of is certainly its Geisha coffee beans. The estate divides Geisha into three brands: Esmeralda Special, Private Collection, and Geisha 1500, which are what we commonly call Red Label, Green Label, and Blue Label. In addition to grading Geisha, Hacienda Esmeralda also divides the Caturra and Catuai grown on the estate into two brands: Diamond Mountain and Palmyra. The subject of this article by Front Street is the natural-process Diamond Mountain coffee beans.

Front Street Coffee: Panama Hacienda Esmeralda — Natural Diamond Mountain Coffee Beans

Coffee Region: Boquete

Coffee Estate: Hacienda Esmeralda

Growing Altitude: 1400-1700m

Coffee Varieties: Catuai, Caturra

Processing Method: Natural Process

Hacienda Esmeralda

La Esmeralda Estate

In 1964, American banker Rudolph Peterson retired and moved to Panama, where he purchased Hacienda Esmeralda in Boquete, initially focused on dairy farming. Later, his son Price gave up his medical career to help his father manage the farm, and in 1987 introduced the Caturra and Catuai coffee varieties. In 1994, the estate established a wet processing plant, and from then on had its own coffee processing facilities.

Geisha coffee at Hacienda Esmeralda was something of an "accidental discovery." Originally, because the Geisha coffee trees grew tall and thin with sparse leaves and low yield, the owner only used them as a windbreak to block strong winds and protect the Caturra and Catuai in other high-yield areas. Then during harvesting, a captivating floral aroma was faintly detected, and following that clue, the owner found these Geisha coffee trees growing well and emitting floral and orange aromas in the windy, low-temperature windbreak. So in 2004, Hacienda Esmeralda submitted Geisha separately to competition, rose to fame at the BOP competition, and thereby established its position in the specialty coffee world.

Caturra & Catuai Varieties

Caturra & Catuai

As Front Street just mentioned, what Hacienda Esmeralda initially introduced and mainly planted were Caturra and Catuai. Caturra is a Bourbon mutation discovered in Brazil in 1937. It has better productivity and disease resistance than Bourbon, and the tree is shorter, making harvesting easier. It has strong adaptability and does not require shade trees. It is suitable for planting from low altitudes of 700 meters to high altitudes of 1700 meters, with a very wide altitude adaptation range, but the higher the altitude, the better the flavor, while productivity relatively decreases.

Catuai is a variety artificially hybridized in 1949 from Yellow Caturra and Mundo Novo, originally called "H-2077." Catuai has better resistance to disasters, especially resistance to wind and rain. Because the plant is smaller, it can be planted at double density, and the short plant makes pest and disease control relatively easier. Catuai grows vigorously and is short, but is susceptible to leaf rust.

Diamond Mountain Series

Diamond Mountain

The Caturra and Catuai of the Diamond Mountain series are planted in the Canas Verdes and Jaramillo areas, with the overall coffee planting distributed at altitudes of 1400~1700 meters. Diamond Mountain brand coffee holds Eco-friendly and Rainforest Alliance Certified certifications.

Canas Verdes Annual rainfall is 3500ml, average daytime temperature is 16-23°C, average nighttime temperature is 10-15°C, and average altitude is 1600-1800m. Canas includes a total of 9 small plots: Lino, Coronado, Fundador, Leon, Montaa, Trapiche, Chinta, Cabaa, Tumaco.

Jaramillo Annual rainfall is 4000ml, average daytime temperature is 19-25°C, average nighttime temperature is 11-15°C, and average altitude is 1600-1700m. The Jaramillo plot is subdivided into 5 small plots: Mario, Noria, Reina, Bosque, Buenos Aires.

Rainforest Alliance Certified: For farms that meet the standards set by the Rainforest Alliance, the alliance protects them and their surrounding ecosystems, restricts pesticide use, and evaluates benchmarks such as waste management. Only coffee that passes the assessment and is certified can be called "Rainforest Alliance Certified Coffee." Because coffee cultivation has a relatively low impact on the ecological environment, the Panamanian government also issued the Eco-friendly ecological label to Diamond Mountain series coffee beans.

Natural Process

Natural

The Diamond Mountain beans obtained by Front Street Coffee use the natural process. In the natural process, the harvested coffee cherries are sent directly to the courtyard to dry. The coffee cherries slowly dry while the coffee beans remain inside, and the beans become full of fruity and aromatic notes. Depending on the weather and the composition of the site, the coffee cherries are dried on concrete platforms for 3 to 5 days (8 hours per day).

When the coffee cherries have dried to a certain degree, they are then placed in a Guardiola drier and rotated for 72 hours to complete the drying process and prevent fermentation. After drying is complete, the coffee cherries are mechanically stripped of their skin, pulp, and other parts. Front Street Coffee believes that the natural process can add sweetness and ripe red berry flavors to coffee beans.

Front Street Coffee Green Bean Analysis

By observing the natural-process green beans of Diamond Mountain, Front Street Coffee found that the green beans are somewhat yellow in color, and natural-process green beans also have more silver skin on the surface. Caturra green beans have a curved tail end, are round and slender, while Catuai beans are flat with a relatively slender tail end.

Front Street Coffee Roasting Record

Front Street's roaster used a Yangjia 800N semi-direct fire, with a roasting amount of 480g. The drum temperature was preheated to 165°C for charging, the power was adjusted to 130, the airflow was opened to 3, the turning point was 1'36", and the power was maintained; at 112°C the power remained unchanged, the airflow was opened to 4, and at 127°C the power was raised to 140. At 6'15" it turned yellow, the grassy smell disappeared, and it entered the dehydration stage. At 151°C the power was lowered to 110, and the airflow remained at 4.

At 9'00" dehydration was complete, wrinkles and dark patches appeared on the bean surface, and the toast aroma turned into coffee aroma, marking the prelude to first crack. At this time, pay attention to listening for the sound of first crack. At 10'48" first crack began, the airflow was fully opened to 5, the development time after first crack was 1'20", and the beans were dropped at 191°C.

Front Street Coffee Cupping Report

Front Street Coffee conducts cupping within 8-24 hours after the sample coffee beans are roasted. The cupping bowls generally used by Front Street Coffee baristas have a capacity of 200ml ceramic bowls. The water temperature used for cupping is 94°C. The grind size is controlled so that the passing rate through a No. 20 standard sieve (0.85 mm) is 70%-75%. Ratio: 11.1 grams of coffee powder plus 200 milliliters of hot water, that is, 1:18.18, so that the extracted concentration falls exactly within the golden cup range of 1.15%-1.35%, and the steeping time is 4 minutes.

Dry Aroma: Citrus, berries

Wet Aroma: Citrus

Flavor: Citrus, honey, cocoa, fermented wine aroma

Front Street Coffee Brewing Insights

Filter Cup: V60#01

Water Temperature: 90-91°C

Dose: 15g

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: Medium-fine grind (80% passing rate through China standard No. 20 sieve)

Front Street brewing method: three-stage extraction. Use 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom, pour in a small stream in circles until 125 grams for the stage break, and when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 225 grams and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the filter cup. (Timing starts at the beginning of the bloom.) The extraction time is 2'00".

Brewing Flavor: Citrus, bright acidity, nuts, honey, slight fermented note, smooth mouthfeel, cocoa finish.

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.