Panama is renowned in the specialty coffee circle for Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha, and the Boquete region is the heart of this legend. At the foot of Baru Volcano, there is also a bean with outstanding value for money—Butterfly. It is a blend of three varieties: Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai, with Geisha lineage accounting for about 40%, and its flavor inherits jasmine, citrus, honey, and berry notes. This article starts with Boquete's microclimate and volcanic soil, sorts out the varietal origins and fine washed process of Butterfly, and, combined with Front Street Coffee's medium-light roast approach, provides a V60 three-pour brewing method to help enthusiasts fully release this bean's floral and fruity layers.

Front Street Coffee: Panama Butterfly Coffee Beans Panama Boquete Butterfly

Country: Panama

Grade: SHB

Region: Boquet

Roast Level: Medium-light roast

Processing Method: Natural\Washed

Variety: 70% Geisha, Caturra, Catuai

Flavor: Tea aroma, honey, berries, lemon, white floral

Panama is located in Central America, bordering Costa Rica to the west and Colombia to the east. Anyone with some knowledge of single-origin coffee has likely heard of Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha, the bean that made Panama famous in the coffee world. It can be said that this is a country that constantly pursues quality and where excellent coffees keep emerging.

What made Panamanian coffee famous was Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha, and the place where this estate is located is equally notable: Boquete in Chiriqui Province. Boquete is a small town under Chiriqui Province, located close to the border between Panama and Costa Rica, not far from the famous Baru Volcano. The scenery here is beautiful, the soil is deep and fertile, and the climate and soil conditions are very suitable for growing high-quality coffee.

Many excellent estates are also scattered within Boquete. In addition to Hacienda La Esmeralda, estates such as Elida Estate and Acaba Estate are equally famous and also produce specialty coffee. These achievements come partly from Boquete's superior natural ecology and the fertile volcanic ash soil brought by Baru Volcano; on the other hand, there is also a key factor, namely the microclimate of the Boquete highlands, which can be called a unique resource for local specialty coffee. Panama's east-to-west topography causes cold air to rise along the central mountain range to above 6,500 feet and gather there, thereby forming multiple microclimates around Boquete, with temperature and rainfall both just right, and coffee trees grow very well here.

In such superior growing conditions in Boquete, there will certainly not be only Esmeralda's Geisha as the ace. Its flavor and price are both high, but drinking Geisha every day is too luxurious; even if there is no financial pressure, it is unrealistic to eat shark fin and bear paw at every meal. The same applies to drinking coffee: one must explore widely to experience more enjoyment in tasting.

In Boquete there is a bean with particularly outstanding value for money, and its name is also very beautiful: Butterfly. Panama Butterfly coffee beans carry about 40% high-quality Geisha lineage and are composed of three varieties: Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai. They are grown in the Baru Volcano area of Boquete at an altitude of about 1,600 meters. The processing plant uses a fine washed method; the local special microclimate brings abundant rainfall, a marked temperature difference between day and night, and together with volcanic rock soil and careful harvesting and processing, this coffee performs remarkably in body, acidity, and floral aroma.

What is even more surprising is that, on the premise of excellent quality, its price is very affordable, with value for money almost maxed out. What makes this bean special is the combination of three varieties, about 40% of which is Geisha, so the Geisha flavor is very obvious. Information shows that, due to the estate's historical reasons, in the early years Geisha was mixed-planted with Caturra and Catuai in pursuit of yield; for ease of picking, coffee farmers did not reclassify them, but directly processed the three varieties together. Later, when Geisha became famous overnight and its price soared, the processing plant began to carry out refined washed processing for such a bean.

Nowadays there are many versions of the washed processing flow, but the general idea is the same: after the fruit is picked, first remove floating beans, then depulp, and then soak the coffee beans in fermentation tanks. Enzymes in the water soften the mucilage attached to the parchment, while natural yeast decomposes the sugars in the mucilage; this step is fermentation. After fermentation ends, the beans are moved to drying beds, during which they must be constantly turned to ensure evenness. Finally, they are stored in parchment in warehouses, and after green bean buyers place orders, they are hulled and bagged. Coffee processed this way has a clean mouthfeel, bright and lively fruit acidity, and lifted fruit flavors and floral aromas.

It is not hard to imagine that Butterfly's varietal advantages, combined with fine processing, and then set by medium-light roasting, will lead to a very pleasing final flavor profile. From this bean you can taste Geisha's signature floral aroma, tropical fruit and berry notes, as well as honey-like sweetness and a smooth texture, with especially lasting aroma and finish.

Cupping:

Fragrance (dry aroma): jasmine, citrus, tea aroma, honey

Aroma (wet aroma): berries, floral, oily aroma, vanilla, citrus

Flavor (sipping): juicy sweetness, fine acidity without harshness, good cleanliness, bergamot, honey, citrus, spices, floral, berries, tea aroma, cherry, delicate finish, lasting aroma, classic Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha flavor.

Mouthfeel description: jasmine, citrus, tea aroma, tea aroma, honey, berries, vanilla, bright acidity! Butterfly, which contains Geisha varietal, is a specialty coffee bean with super high value for money!

The reason Geisha coffee is famous depends on its rich floral aroma and complex fruit notes. Front Street's roaster hopes this washed Butterfly can retain more high-quality acidity, so medium-light roasting was chosen. This roast level does not overly weaken the high hardness of high-altitude beans, so during brewing the extraction yield needs to be raised to show a fuller flavor hierarchy. Front Street uses a higher water temperature and a finer grind to stimulate more aromatic substances; at the same time, in order to make the floral and fruity notes clearer, the coffee-to-water ratio is widened a bit, using 1:16.

To increase extraction yield while avoiding over-extraction, and at the same time highlight the sweet-and-sour layers, Front Street Coffee's baristas choose the V60 dripper. The V60 body has spiral ribs connecting the top and bottom, plus a large central hole, which can speed up the flow of water; the spiral exhaust grooves lengthen the water flow path, increasing the contact time between coffee grounds and hot water. Each stream of water follows the grooves toward the center of the dripper, the pressure on the coffee grounds is more concentrated, and the brewed coffee has a richer sense of layering.

Dripper: V60 Water temperature: 91-92℃ Dose: 15g Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15 Grind size: fine granulated sugar size (20号筛碗筛粉到80%)

Three-pour extraction: For the first pour, use 30g water to bloom for 30 seconds, pouring evenly in circles to form a dome; for the second pour, add 95g hot water, and when the coffee bed drops to halfway, begin pouring the third pour of 100g until all the coffee has dripped through. Note to start pouring from the center point, using a small stream and a gentle circular motion throughout, to avoid uneven extraction. Finally, after the coffee liquid has finished dripping, gently swirl to even it out, and you can begin tasting Butterfly coffee's flavor while it is hot.

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