How should Panama coffee from Carmen Estate be tasted?

Carmen Estate in Panama took the washed group title at the 2023 BOP competition with a washed Geisha scoring 96.5 points, a record for coffee flavor evaluation at the time. The same lot later sold at auction for $10,005 per kilogram, a historic high for green beans. The estate sits in Chiriqui Province, where Boquete, Volcan-Candela and Renacimiento cluster around several volcanoes.

Panama's interior is mountainous, with a tropical maritime climate, daytime humidity, cool nights and 23 to 27 degrees Celsius year-round, plus 1,500 to 2,500 millimeters of annual rain. Those microclimates suit coffee trees well. For pour-over, use a medium grind and moderate water temperature so the washed Geisha's floral and citrus notes stay clear rather than muted.

Panama, as an important global specialty coffee origin, has given rise to numerous top-tier estates thanks to its unique geographical environment and microclimates. Among them, Carmen Estate set a record of 96.5 points in the 2023 BOP competition with a washed Geisha, and fetched a sky-high price of $10,005 per kilogram. Today Front Street Coffee takes you deep into this champion estate's planting story, terroir conditions, and coffee flavor characteristics, providing a comprehensive analysis of Panama coffee tasting essentials, from production region distribution to processing methods.

Panama is renowned on the international coffee stage, mainly because the country consistently produces high-quality coffee beans every year, with the Geisha variety being the standout among them. In the 2023 BOP coffee competition, Carmen Estate (CARMEN FINCA) scored 96.5 points with a washed Geisha, taking the washed group championship, a score that set a new global record for coffee flavor evaluation at the time. Even more remarkable, that batch of coffee beans later reached $10,005 per kilogram in a global auction, setting a historic high for green bean prices. Today Front Street Coffee introduces you to this highly anticipated Panamanian champion estate.

Panama

The rise of Panama's coffee industry is not only driven by SCAP but also inseparable from its unique geographical conditions. The country is located at the southernmost tip of Central America, close to the equator, with undulating terrain and interlaced valleys throughout. Although the coastal areas are plains, the interior is mainly mountainous, rich in forests and rivers, and also home to multiple volcanoes.

Panama has a tropical maritime climate, humid during the day and cool at night, with temperatures maintained between 23°C and 27°C year-round and average annual rainfall of about 1,500 to 2,500 millimeters. Due to geographical influences, the area has formed complex and varied microclimates, and these conditions together provide an ideal growing environment for coffee trees.

Coffee Production Regions

Panama's specialty coffee production regions are mainly concentrated in Chiriquí Province, which can be divided into three major areas: Boquete, Volcan-Candela, and Renacimiento, all located around Barú Volcano, El Valle Volcano, and La Yeguada Volcano.

Boquete is Panama's most well-known coffee production region, home to many famous estates such as Hacienda La Esmeralda, Duncan Estate, and Elida Estate.

Although Volcan-Candela is less well-known than Boquete, it is located on the eastern side of Barú Volcano, sharing the same volcano with Boquete yet having a completely different character. The Volcan-Candela region has mountains as a barrier to the north, making it difficult for Atlantic moisture to reach, so the climate is relatively dry but with abundant sunshine, and coffee is grown at altitudes of 1,200 to 1,900 meters in fertile volcanic soil. In recent years, coffees from Volcan-Candela have gradually emerged in the specialty market; for example, Carmen Estate, the 2023 BOP washed group champion, also achieved second and fourth place in the natural group at the 2024 BOP.

Carmen Estate Coffee

Carmen Estate is located between Barú Volcano and the Volcan Valley in Panama, at an altitude of 1,750 meters, and together with the famous Elida Estate it ranks as one of Panama's two highest-altitude Geisha estates. The estate covers a total area of 70 hectares. Because it sits in a valley, it happens to have the Chiriquí River flowing south along the valley into the Pacific Ocean. The stream valley scenery is beautiful, and the significant temperature difference between day and night combined with fertile volcanic black soil creates superior conditions for coffee growth. It is also precisely because Carmen Estate has a vast planting area, plus the influence of altitude variation, that each year's coffee season can last nearly five months.

In 1960, Ms. Efrain and Mr. Carmen Franceschi came to Panama and founded Carmen Estate. It has a history of more than 60 years and is currently fully managed by the third-generation estate owner, Mr. Carlos Aguilera Franceschi. Since its establishment, Carmen Estate has always been committed to growing high-quality coffee. Although it has a long history and limited scale, the coffee beans it produces have repeatedly achieved success in Panama's BOP competition.

Carmen Estate has preserved 60% of its natural virgin forest, and the coffee trees are planted beneath this natural shade. The managers have long adhered to the philosophy of harmonious coexistence with the natural ecology. Through innovative agricultural management models, they preserve the rainforest ecosystem within the coffee farm as much as possible, and in 2014 obtained "C.A.F.E PRACTICE" (Coffee and Farmer Equity) certification.

Similar to many estates in Panama, Carmen's coffee fruit harvest period lasts from about late December to March of the following year, with ripe coffee cherries picked by hand. Waste generated during fruit processing, such as pulp or juice, is properly converted into compost or recycled. After initial sun-drying, the green beans are stored in a dedicated warehouse for secondary moisture content adjustment, and are only hulled before export to ensure green bean quality.

Currently, in addition to the well-known Geisha, Carmen Estate also grows varieties such as Caturra and Catuai. At this year's BOP competition, the Catuai produced by Carmen Estate performed well; that natural-process Catuai batch scored 91.5 points and won fourth place in the multi-variety group. In addition to traditional washed and natural processing methods, the estate owner also releases micro-lots using experimental processing methods such as controlled fermentation and ASD each year.

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