The Coffee Trees Behind Diamond Mountain and Palmyra

Hacienda La Esmeralda is known for Geisha, but the estate also sells Catuai coffees under two brands: Diamond Mountain and Palmyra. Diamond Mountain comes from Jaramillo and Cañas Verdes, two high-yielding farms, at altitudes of 1,400 to 1,700 meters in Boquete, Panama. The variety is Catuai and Caturra, processed naturally.

Catuai has a long history in Panama and is valued for high yield, disease resistance, and clean, bright cup qualities. Many buyers equate Hacienda La Esmeralda with Geisha alone, which can lead to a mistaken purchase. Reading the variety label before ordering avoids that confusion.

Hacienda La Esmeralda is world-famous for the Geisha variety, but the estate produces far more than Geisha. This article will sort out Hacienda La Esmeralda's product system organized by variety, focusing on the two brands under Catuai—Diamond Mountain and Palmyra—and taking a deep dive into Diamond Mountain coffee's terroir, variety characteristics, natural processing method, as well as Front Street Coffee's roasting curve, cupping performance, and brewing recommendations, helping coffee lovers clarify Hacienda La Esmeralda's grading logic and avoid simply equating Hacienda La Esmeralda with Geisha when ordering.

Hacienda La Esmeralda's reputation in the coffee world is resounding—it was precisely by riding the Geisha variety to global dominance that Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda and the Geisha variety achieved their universally recognized status today. However, many friends subconsciously equate Hacienda La Esmeralda with Geisha, recognizing only the estate name when ordering and overlooking the variety information behind it, ultimately receiving a cup of Hacienda La Esmeralda coffee that is not Geisha—an rather awkward situation. So what other coffees does Hacienda La Esmeralda produce besides Geisha?

Opening Hacienda La Esmeralda's official website, one can see that the estate first divides its coffee into two major categories by variety: Geisha and Catuai. Under the Geisha category, it is further subdivided into Esmeralda Special, Private Collection, and Geisha 1500—what people commonly call Red Label, Green Label, and Blue Label.

Today's focus falls outside of Geisha. Under the Catuai category, there are two brands: Diamond Mountain and Palmyra. The Catuai variety has a long cultivation history in Panama and is favored for its high yield, disease resistance, and clean, bright qualities. Front Street Coffee recently imported a batch of Hacienda La Esmeralda's Diamond Mountain coffee.

Front Street Coffee Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Natural Diamond Mountain

Region: Boquete, Panama Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda Growing Altitude: 1400-1700 meters Coffee Variety: Catuai, Caturra Processing Method: Natural

The coffee cherries used for Diamond Mountain come from Hacienda La Esmeralda's two highest-yielding and most renowned farms: Jaramillo and Cañas Verdes.

Jaramillo holds a prominent position within Hacienda La Esmeralda, with an average altitude exceeding 1650 meters, daytime temperatures around 19 to 25 degrees Celsius, dropping to 11 to 15 degrees Celsius at night. The dramatic temperature difference between day and night gives the coffee trees ample time to grow and accumulate nutrients, with annual rainfall reaching 4000 millimeters. It is precisely these terroir conditions that allowed the Geisha variety grown here to win the BOP championship in 2004 with its captivating floral aroma—the Geisha variety and Hacienda La Esmeralda became famous overnight.

Cañas Verdes is one of the farms included when the Peterson family, the estate owners, first purchased Hacienda La Esmeralda. In the early years, it was used for grazing dairy cattle, and later small plots around Cañas were gradually consolidated, shifting focus to coffee cultivation. Today, Cañas encompasses nine small plots including Lino.

The Cañas area sits at altitudes all above 1650 meters, with average daytime temperatures of 16 to 23 degrees Celsius, average nighttime temperatures of 11 to 15 degrees Celsius, annual rainfall of approximately 3500 millimeters, and a distinct dry season lasting three to four months. The overall climate remains quite cool.

Coffee Variety The varieties of this Diamond Mountain coffee are Catuai and Caturra.

The word Catuai comes from the Guarani term "multo mom," meaning "very good." This variety is divided into Yellow Catuai and Red Catuai. It was bred in 1949 by crossing Yellow Caturra with the Mundo Novo variety, originally designated H-2077.

Catuai has been cultivated in Panama for a long time and is widely popular for its high yield, disease resistance, and clean, bright character. Compared to the Bourbon variety, Catuai's yield is much higher, partly because the plant is shorter, allowing for closer spacing—its planting density is nearly twice that of Bourbon.

Processing Method This Diamond Mountain coffee uses natural processing. During the natural process, harvested coffee cherries are sent directly to patios for drying. The cherries gradually lose moisture and dry, while the coffee beans remain wrapped inside, slowly absorbing fruity and aromatic notes.

Depending on weather and site conditions, the coffee cherries are dried on concrete platforms for 3 to 5 days, about 8 hours per day. Once the cherries have dried to a certain degree, they are transferred to a Guardiola drier and rotated for 72 hours to complete drying and prevent fermentation. After drying is complete, the skin and pulp are removed mechanically.

Front Street Coffee Roasting Analysis While Caturra cannot match Geisha in flavor, thanks to Hacienda La Esmeralda's meticulous management and similar growing altitude, its quality and flavor remain at a premium level. Front Street chose a medium-light roast for this coffee.

Charged at 165°C, heat setting 130, airflow opened to 3; turning point at 97.3°C (1'36"), when the drum temperature reached 112°C the airflow was opened to 4 with heat unchanged; at 153.2°C the bean surface turned yellow, the grassy smell completely disappeared, entering the dehydration phase. At 8'30", the bean surface showed ugly wrinkles and dark streaks, and the toast aroma clearly shifted to coffee aroma—this can be defined as the precursor to first crack.

At 184°C the heat was reduced to 70. At this point one must listen carefully for the sound of first crack. First crack began at 9'48", and the airflow was adjusted to 5. After first crack, development lasted 1'20", and the coffee was dropped at 191°C.

Front Street Coffee Cupping Results

Front Street Coffee Brewing Recommendations Dripper: V60#01 Water Temperature: 90-91°C Dose: 15g Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15 Grind Size: Medium-fine (80% passing through China standard No. 20 sieve)

Brewing Method: Three-stage extraction. Use 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom, then pour in a slow circular stream until reaching 125 grams for the first stage. When the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until reaching 225 grams and stop. When the water level is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the beginning of the bloom.) Total extraction time: 1'55".

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