What makes the geisha village estate in Boquete distinct?
Panama's El Burro Estate sits on the edge of Volcan Baru National Park in Boquete, Chiriqui Province, at 1,700 to 2,000 meters, and has nearly a century of history. Its microclimate, volcanic soil, and shade growing produce Geisha lots with ginger flower aroma, citrus, honey, and berries, prepared with an ASD anaerobic natural process.
Geisha was first planted as a windbreak tree and only gained fame after Hacienda La Esmeralda, later joining the ranks of most expensive coffee. Panama's specialty coffee is concentrated in the west near Costa Rica, and only coffee grown between 1,300 and 1,500 meters is regarded as specialty, with Boquete the most cited district.
Geisha coffee has long been renowned worldwide for its high price and scarce production, and the Boquete region of Panama is precisely the core stage where this legendary variety shines. El Burro Estate, as a famous estate in the Boquete region with nearly a century of history, is located on the edge of Volcán Barú National Park, at an altitude of 1700 to 2000 meters. With its unique microclimate, volcanic soil, and shade-growing conditions, it nurtures Geisha coffee with outstanding flavor. This article will take you deep into the history of El Burro Estate, the terroir of the producing region, the natural processing method, and Front Street Coffee's roasting and pour-over recommendations for this bean, comprehensively presenting its rich flavor layers interwoven with ginger flower aroma, citrus, honey, and berries.
In the specialty coffee world, Geisha is a name that absolutely cannot be avoided. It is not only astonishingly expensive but also extremely limited in production, so whenever a well-known estate releases a Geisha lot, one often needs both skill and luck to secure it. Few people know that Geisha was initially planted as a windbreak tree species, and it was not until Hacienda La Esmeralda made it famous that it gradually rose to the ranks of the world's most expensive coffees.
Panama's high-quality coffee is mainly concentrated in the western part of the country, that is, the area near Costa Rica and bordering the Pacific Ocean. Among them, coffee produced in the Boquete district of Chiriquí Province is the most famous, while Vocan and Santa Clara also enjoy a good reputation.
In addition, there are also the David district, the Remance district, the Bugaba district, and the Tolé district. Only coffee grown at altitudes between 1300 and 1500 meters is regarded as specialty coffee.
Boquete Producing Region
Boquete is a small town under the jurisdiction of Chiriquí Province, located near the border between Panama and Costa Rica and adjacent to the famous Volcán Barú. It has beautiful scenery, fertile and deep soil, and climate and soil conditions that are very suitable for growing high-quality coffee.
The microclimate of Panama's Boquete highlands is the key resource that makes the specialty coffee of this producing region unique. Due to Panama's east-to-west topography, cold air currents gather along the central mountain range above 6,500 feet, forming multiple microclimates in the Boquete area, making both temperature and rainfall extremely suitable for plant growth. As a result, the coffee trees here grow very well.
El Burro Estate
El Burro Estate has a history of nearly a hundred years. The location of the estate was used in its early years for raising livestock, and after the owner planted coffee, it was named El Burro after the donkeys.
El Burro Estate is located in the Boquete region of Chiriquí Province, Panama, with an area of about 50 hectares, of which 20 hectares are planted with Geisha and Catuai, 10 hectares are reserved for planting, and the rest belongs to the protected area of Volcán Barú National Forest Park. The altitude is about 1700 to 1800 meters. The terrain in this area is steep, with a large number of native tree species serving as shade trees, and clouds and mist linger year-round, effectively extending the coffee's growth cycle. The soil is volcanic soil, rich in potassium and phosphorus, with abundant organic matter.
El Burro Estate was established by Mr. Amado Boutet, the maternal grandfather of Mr. Wilford Lamastus, the current heir of the Lamastus family, while his maternal great-grandfather, Aristides Boutet, was a Frenchman who immigrated to Panama in the early nineteenth century. When global coffee market prices were sluggish, his maternal grandfather's family had to sell off large coffee estates. Mr. Wilford and his younger brother Patrick Lamastus could not bear to see the family estate sold off, so they bought El Burro Estate and continued to operate it.
In order to keep the estate running and support the family, Mr. Wilford and others also had to take on other work to earn extra income. Having persisted to this day, El Burro Estate has become a famous coffee estate that repeatedly achieves excellent results in the Best of Panama (BOP) competition. At the 2016 Japan Barista Championship, the barista from Maruyama Coffee won the championship using El Burro Estate's washed Geisha.
El Burro Estate is one of the least disturbed coffee farms in Panama. Similar to Elida Estate, part of it is also located within Volcán Barú National Park. It adopts organic farming and shade growing, is bird-friendly, and the farm altitude is extremely high (the farm reaches up to 2000 meters, and coffee is planted up to 1800 meters). The microclimate is unique, and the temperature of the coffee-growing environment is very low.
El Burro Estate has a total area of 50 hectares, of which 20 hectares are planted with Geisha and Catuai, 10 hectares are pending planting, and the rest is private forest reserve or located within VBNP. The coffee on this farm only grows up to 1800 meters (about 6000 feet).
Like Elida Estate, the coffee trees are surrounded by Volcán Barú National Park—a pristine cloudy rainforest. Nighttime temperatures turn cold, and these low temperatures likewise extend the ripening time. All these unique growing conditions ultimately show up as exquisite flavor in the cup.
The coffee is produced under unique conditions in the world for the following reasons: First, the farm altitude is extremely high (Elida is one of the highest coffee farms in Panama), the coffee is grown in mineral-rich young volcanic soil, the dry season temperatures are higher, fog and mist are frequent, the coffee trees are surrounded by pristine cloudy rainforest, and the nights are cold. Therefore, the trees do not begin to produce fruit until 4.5 to 5.5 years (2 to 3 years longer than average). These low temperatures also extend the ripening period by 1 month (thus allowing the beans to fully develop). All these unique growing conditions are reflected in the outstanding flavor.
Volcán Barú National Park (BVNP) is a protected World Heritage site and one of the highest volcanoes in Central America, covering 14,000 hectares and divided by altitude into 7 different climate zones, within which both of our farms are located. The nearest and most accessible coffee farm within BVNP is Elida Estate.
Natural Processing Method
Natural processing means reducing the coffee's moisture content through prolonged drying. It is a relatively old processing method, lower in cost, and also the simplest to carry out.
The harvested coffee cherries are poured into a large water tank. Ripe, plump cherries sink to the bottom, while floating beans are removed. Then the whole coffee cherries—with pulp, skin, and beans—are spread out on the drying patio for sun drying, naturally drying to a moisture content of about 12%. The entire process takes about two to four weeks. Finally, a hulling machine is used to remove the dry, hard skin, pulp, and parchment layer, revealing the green beans.
Variety: Geisha
1931: A group of botanists went to southwestern Ethiopia for an expedition, discovered the Geisha bean variety near Geisha Village, and brought Geisha seeds to Kenya, where they were planted and grown in a nursery.
1936: Geisha seeds were passed to Uganda and Tanzania.
1953: The Costa Rican research institution CATIE obtained some Geisha seeds from Tanzania for research.
1960: Pachi Serracin, the former owner of Panama's Hacienda Don Pachi, introduced Geisha to Panama from Costa Rica. Later, Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda separated it from other varieties and won the national coffee competition championship in one fell swoop.
[Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Panama El Burro Estate Natural]
Country: Panama
Estate: El Burro Estate
Producing Region: Boquete
Variety: Geisha
Altitude: 1700-2000m
Processing Method: Natural
Grade: SHB
[Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Roaster's Recommendations]
Roasting Machine: Yangjia 800N
When the drum temperature rises to 160°C, charge the beans, set the damper to 3, and set the heat to 130; the turning point is at 1'40". When the drum temperature is 140°C, keep the heat unchanged and open the damper to 4; at this point the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and the dehydration stage begins. When the drum temperature reaches 168°C, lower the heat to 80 and keep the damper unchanged.
At 7'50", obvious wrinkles and dark spots appear on the bean surface, and the toast aroma turns into coffee aroma, which can be regarded as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the exact sound of first crack. At 8'25", first crack begins. Reduce the heat to 50 and adjust the damper to 5 (be very cautious when adjusting the heat; do not reduce it so much that the cracking sound cannot be heard). After first crack, develop for 1'30" and discharge at 193°C.
[Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Pour-Over Recommendations]
Dripper: V60
Water Temperature: 91°C
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: BG#5R
[Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Brewing Method]
Brewing Method: Bloom with 30 grams of water for 30 seconds, then pour to 125 grams in stages. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225 grams and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Start timing from the beginning of the bloom.) The extraction time is about two minutes.
[Flavor Description]
It smells of ginger flower. On the palate, it presents citrus, honey, berry flavors, and a fermented wine aroma. As the temperature drops, a pineapple-like sweetness gradually emerges, and the finish carries the sweet-and-tart sensation of sweet orange.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
