How Is Diamond Mountain Coffee Beans Processed and Roasted?

Hacienda La Esmeralda in Boquete, Panama, runs two brands built on Caturra and Catuai rather than Geisha: Diamond Mountain and Palmyra. Diamond Mountain is grown at 1400 to 1700 meters and processed naturally, giving a cup with citrus, bright acidity, nuts, honey, fermented notes, and cocoa.

The estate's story starts in 1964, when Rudolph Peterson bought the farm; his son Price introduced Caturra and Catuai in 1987 and built a washing station in 1994. Geisha arrived by accident, originally planted as windbreak trees. Coffee bean processing and roasting choices shape how these varieties reach the cup.

When Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda is mentioned, most coffee lovers first think of Geisha, but the estate actually has two other brands centered on Caturra and Catuai varieties: Diamond Mountain and Palmyra. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will take you deep into the Diamond Mountain series: from the history of Hacienda La Esmeralda and the terroir of the Boquete production area, to the characteristics of the Caturra and Catuai varieties, to the details of the natural processing method, and finally with FrontStreet's tested roasting curve, cupping report, and brewing parameters, to present a full picture of this bean's flavor profile.

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When Panamanian coffee is mentioned, Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha is almost universally known, but the estate's Caturra and Catuai are rarely discussed. Does this mean these two varieties are of poor quality? Not at all. According to FrontStreet Coffee, Hacienda La Esmeralda has established independent brands specifically for these two varieties—Diamond Mountain and Palmyra. Below, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce the coffee beans of Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda Diamond Mountain brand.

FrontStreet Coffee Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Natural Diamond Mountain Coffee Beans

Country: Panama

Region: Boquete, Hacienda La Esmeralda

Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda

Altitude: 1400-1700m

Variety: Catuai, Caturra

Processing Method: Natural

Flavor: Citrus, bright acidity, nuts, honey, fermented notes, cocoa.

Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda

Hacienda La Esmeralda is famous for producing top-tier Geisha and is also a promoter of Geisha flavor. The estate's story began in 1964, when American banker Rudolph Peterson retired and moved to Panama, buying Hacienda La Esmeralda in Boquete, initially focusing on dairy farming. Later, his son Price gave up his medical career to help his father manage the farm, introduced Caturra and Catuai varieties in 1987, and built a washing station in 1994, since then having its own coffee processing facilities.

The discovery of Geisha was purely accidental. Because Geisha coffee trees had low yields and poor economic returns, they were used by the former estate owner as windbreak trees to block strong winds and protect the high-yielding Caturra and Catuai areas. For this reason, pickers also harvested Geisha cherries along with the others. When the estate owner cupped it, he found this bean especially unique, with rich citrus and floral notes, and so began to seek out and value Geisha coffee trees. In 2004, Hacienda La Esmeralda entered Geisha alone in the BOP competition and rose to fame overnight, establishing its place in the specialty coffee world.

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, Hacienda La Esmeralda originally also planted Caturra and Catuai, and Panama locally was likewise dominated by these two varieties. Therefore, if you want to understand the most original coffee flavor of the Panamanian production area, you still have to start with these two varieties, since Geisha's flavor leans more toward its place of origin in Africa.

Panama Coffee Bean Growing Conditions

FrontStreet Coffee often says that the flavor of a coffee bean depends on the growing environment, production area, variety, and processing method. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will explain FrontStreet Diamond Mountain coffee beans from Hacienda La Esmeralda based on these three points.

Panama's terrain is undulating throughout, with ravines crisscrossing; apart from the north and south coastal plains, it is mostly mountainous. Close to the equator, it has a tropical maritime climate, humid during the day and cool at night, with an average annual temperature of 23-27°C. The year is divided into dry and rainy seasons, with average annual rainfall of 1500-2500mm.

FrontStreet Panama coffee beans are known for a smooth mouthfeel and balanced acidity, and high-quality beans have a pure flavor and great character. The first batch of coffee exported each year ships in November.

High-quality FrontStreet Panama coffee beans are mainly grown in northwestern Panama, near Costa Rica and close to the Pacific. Among these, coffee produced in the Boquete coffee region of Chiriqui Province is the most famous.

FrontStreet Panama Boquete Coffee Bean Production Area

According to FrontStreet Coffee, the Boquete production area has growing altitudes as high as 1400-1,900m. This place is located near the border of Panama and Costa Rica, close to the famous Baru Volcano, with beautiful scenery, fertile and rich soil, and a climate and soil highly suitable for producing high-quality coffee.

Within the Boquete production area there are also many excellent estates. Besides Hacienda La Esmeralda, there are also Elida Estate and Kotowa Duncan Estate, all producing high-quality specialty coffee.

And this benefits not only from the mild climatic conditions of Panama's Boquete region and the fertile volcanic ash soil of Baru Volcano. Another important factor is the changeable microclimates found in the Boquete highlands of Panama.

Hacienda La Esmeralda Plot Divisions

The coffee beans grown at Hacienda La Esmeralda are also divided by area. The estate strictly divides growing areas into five brands for sale according to altitude, microclimate, cupping performance, and planted variety. There are three brands for the Geisha variety: Esmeralda Special (Red Label), Private Collection (Green Label), and Geisha 1500 (Blue Label). There are two brands for the Caturra and Catuai varieties: Diamond Mountain and Palmyra.

According to FrontStreet Coffee, Hacienda La Esmeralda mainly has three plots: Jaramillo, Canas Verdes, and El Velo. And each plot is further finely divided into small plots. 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, and Buenos Aires.

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 9 small plots in total: Lino, Coronado, Fundador, León, Montaa, Trapiche, Chinta, Cabaa, and Tumaco.

El Velo:

This plot is the most recently purchased plot of Hacienda La Esmeralda, with an average altitude of 1700-1900m. In addition to planting Geisha and Catuai, this plot also has a small amount of other exotic varieties, such as Laurina, Pacamara, Mocha, and SL28, etc. El Velo is divided into 7 small plots in total: Guabo, Portón, Durazno, Higuerón, Higo, Buena Vista, and guila.

FrontStreet Coffee Hacienda La Esmeralda Diamond Mountain Series Coffee Beans

The Caturra and Catuai coffee varieties of FrontStreet's Hacienda La Esmeralda Diamond Mountain series are planted in the Canas Verdes and Jaramillo areas, with the overall coffee planting distributed at altitudes of 1400~1700 meters. At the same time, according to FrontStreet's understanding, Diamond Mountain brand coffee has Rainforest Alliance certification with superior environmental conditions. You should know that this certification is not easy to obtain; for example, FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee comes from Clifton Mount Estate, the only estate in Jamaica with Rainforest Alliance certification.

What does Rainforest Alliance certification represent?

1. Less water pollution. 2. Less acid damage. 3. Reduce impact on the environment and human health. 4. Protect wildlife habitats. 5. Less waste. 6. Use less water. 7. Highly effective farm management mechanisms. 8. Safeguard the rights and welfare of agricultural workers. 9. Safeguard the income and competitiveness of agricultural workers. 10 .Enhance cooperation between agricultural workers and environmentalists.

The image shows the Rainforest certification mark

And according to FrontStreet Coffee, an estate must have more than 100 crops to be certified by the Rainforest Alliance, and these crops are certified according to the environmental and social standards of the Sustainable Agriculture Network.

Diamond Mountain Coffee Bean Varieties---Caturra, Catuai

According to FrontStreet Coffee, Caturra and Catuai varieties are currently widely planted in Latin American production areas. This is because their resistance to pests and diseases is better than Typica, so they are also widely planted in Panama's coffee production areas. Caturra is a Bourbon mutation discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its productivity and disease resistance are both better than Bourbon, and the tree is shorter, making harvesting easier. It has strong adaptability and does not need shade trees. It is suitable for planting from low altitudes of 700 meters to high altitudes of 1700 meters, with strong altitude adaptability, but the higher the altitude, the better the flavor, while productivity relatively decreases.

The Catuai variety is a hybrid developed in 1949. It is a coffee variety artificially crossed from Yellow Caturra (an Arabica subspecies) and Mundo Novo (a Robusta subspecies), and was initially named "H-2077". Catuai has relatively good resistance to disasters, especially wind and rain. Because the plant is smaller, it can be planted at twice the density, and the plant is short, making pest and disease treatment relatively easy. Catuai grows vigorously and is short in height, but is susceptible to leaf rust.

Hacienda La Esmeralda Diamond Mountain Coffee Bean Processing Method

The FrontStreet Diamond Mountain beans obtained by FrontStreet Coffee use the natural processing method. Therefore, this coffee bean also shows strong aroma and fermented notes in its flavor performance.

During the natural processing method, the harvested coffee cherries are sent directly to the patio to dry. The coffee cherries slowly dry while the coffee beans are still inside, and the coffee 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 into a Guardiola drier and rotated for 72 hours to complete the drying process and prevent fermentation. After drying is completed, the coffee cherries are mechanically stripped of peel, pulp, and other parts. FrontStreet Coffee believes that the natural processing method can add sweetness and ripe red berry flavors to coffee beans.

The above is the relevant information compiled by FrontStreet Coffee about FrontStreet Hacienda La Esmeralda Diamond Mountain coffee beans, hoping to help coffee lovers better understand Hacienda La Esmeralda. Secondly, before releasing each new bean, FrontStreet Coffee conducts extensive roasting and brewing parameter testing. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will share the roasting and brewing parameters most suitable for this FrontStreet Panama coffee bean with coffee lovers.

FrontStreet Coffee Green Bean Analysis

By observing FrontStreet Diamond Mountain's natural green beans, FrontStreet Coffee notes that the green beans are yellowish in color, and natural green beans also have more silver skin on the surface. Caturra green beans have a curve at the tail end and are round and slender, while Catuai beans are flat in body and relatively slender at the tail end.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Record

FrontStreet'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 heat was adjusted to 130, the airflow was opened to 3, the turning point was 1'36", and the heat was maintained; at 112°C the heat remained unchanged, the airflow was opened to 4, at 127 °C the heat was raised to 140 °C, at 6'15" it turned yellow, the grassy smell disappeared, and it entered the dehydration stage; at 151°C the heat was lowered to 110, and the airflow was maintained at 4.

At 9'00" dehydration was complete, wrinkles and dark streaks appeared on the bean surface, and the toast smell turned into coffee aroma, serving as 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.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Report

FrontStreet Coffee conducts cupping within 8-24 hours after the sample coffee beans are roasted. The cupping bowls generally used by FrontStreet Coffee baristas are 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 (0.85mm) is 70%-75%. Ratio: 11.1 grams of coffee grounds 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

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Notes

Dripper: 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)

FrontStreet brewing method: three-stage extraction.

Use 30 grams of water for a 30-second bloom, then pour in a small stream in circles until 125 grams for the stage break; when the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 225 grams and stop pouring; when the water level is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts at the beginning of the bloom.) The extraction time is 2'00".

【FrontStreet Hacienda La Esmeralda Diamond Mountain】Brewing flavor: Citrus, bright acidity, nuts, honey, slight fermented notes, smooth mouthfeel, cocoa finish.

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