Varietal –  Geisha
Location – Boquete, Panama
Importer - Mercanta

The Geisha varietal grown in Panama has become incredibly sought after over the last 10 years. Panama produces some incredible coffees but generally at a fairly low volume output with total production at less than 0.5% of the global coffee market. Rather than focusing on volume coffee producers in Panama have concentrated on varietal separation combined with advance and very focused processing methods. We are incredibly excited to have been able to find a pair of outstanding Geish varietal coffees from the Kotowa farms in the famous Boquete region.

Farm Overview:

The Kotowa farms (which include Finca Don K – where this particular Geisha coffee was grown) were named by Alexander Duncan MacIntyre, a Canadian who settled in the Boquete region in 1918. Inspired by the high, cool climate of the area, he used the name ‘Kotawa,’ meaning "mountain" in the local Ngobe language to designate the land that currently composes the Kotowa estate.

While in Canada, Alexander had read a newspaper article about a mountainous region called Boquete, an unexplored region in Panama located on the slopes of a mysterious volcano. The stories captured his imagination and led him to visit the region, where he fell in love with the magic of the valley and its people. Four generations on, and Alexander's family are still cultivating and processing coffee in the same traditional way. On the volcanic slopes of the farm, you can see the distant Pacific Ocean on one side and the near-by rugged mountains of the continental divide on the other. This area is naturally blessed with a climate where the perfect combination of rain, wind, sunshine, clouds and temperature.

Finca Don K is located at 1700 meters above sea level and is right in the middle of Panama - only 40 km from both the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. As well as benefiting from the rains from both oceans, the land receives a cool dry breeze from the Atlantic and the moisture from the Pacific. Furthermore, Finca Don K. is situated on the rich, nutritious slopes of the Baru Volcano. Temperatures range from 12°C at night to 25°C during the day. This variation in temperature triggers the formation of sugars in the coffee cherry, and the volcanic minerals make for the development of full and complex fruit flavours.

The farm endeavours to protect the forests surrounding the plantation, ensuring that there are no fires in the dry season and that there is no hunting or degradation of the environment. The area is the natural habitat of many birds, both local and migratory. To ensure that this rich biological diversity continues to thrive, Kotowa has planted more than 500 indigenous trees that produce fruits and nuts on which the birds feed. Because of its geographic location and small size, Panama has more bird species than all of North America and Europe together. For the people that work on the farm, there is the provision of free medical attention and, for the children of workers, a nursery providing both meals and a school program. These social programs have earned Kotowa Farm recognition from UNICEF nine years in a row.

Harvesting and Processing:

Once the coffee has been picked, sorted, washed and pulped, the coffee is added to the fermentation tanks. Here, the processing team add yeast to stimulate the fermentation process. Once the fermentation is complete, the coffee is washed and sorted again, before being moved to the drying area. The coffee is dried using a 3 stage process:

Firstly, the parchment coffee is left for 2 days to rest covered under jute bags.
The coffee is moved to an area shaded by trees, to dry for another 3 days.
Finally, the coffee is moved into the direct sun to be dried for a further 15 days.

Once the cherries are dried sufficiently, they are then milled. The coffee is then carefully separated and selected by size, weight and colour. 

This is a stunning high cup score coffee (think 88 -90 points!) with wonderfully complex clean flavours and very different to the natural process version. We get notes of juicy raspberry, strawberry and intense floral aromas.

Panama - Kotowa farms

Horsham coffee roaster specialises in premium, traceable, ethically sourced, freshly roasted coffee.

Horsham Coffee Roaster is based in West Sussex and specialises in the sale of freshly roasted, ethically traded coffee. We roast all our beans to order using a traditional cast iron drum roaster. We only sell coffee that has been ethically source and fairly traded. In many cases also organic, Rainforest Alliance or UTZ certified. Many of our coffees are traded with producers through direct relationships.

Panama - Kotowa farms

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Panama - Kotowa farms