Panama Premium Boquete – Mama Cata Estate – Caturra ASD “Porton”

Description

ASD = Anaerobic Slow Dry – a tanked natural processed coffee on the fruit forward side.

Mama Cata is a very top notch award winning farm that very seldom makes it to the US. Located in some of the best growing territory in Panama, Jose’s highest elevation and most renowned farm (he owns Garrido Estate as well as some other smaller fields).  Some of the biggest names in Panama coffee are also located in this prime territory, Hacienda Esmeralda, Elida Estate and La Jones are all his neighbors.  Since his coffee is mostly obtained by foreign markets, many in the US have not heard the name Mama Cata before unless they are watching the coffee competitions.

Founded in 1911, one of the original premium Panama farms, currently owned by Jose David Garrido Perez (who also owns Garrido, and just happens to be decent friends with our Panamanian farmer buddy, Keith Pech).  Winner of many previous Best of Panama competitions. This farm knows how to grow/process some of the world’s best coffee.

This is a super tasty and clean washed processed coffee, highly rated but not a competition winner, much more affordable than the Geisha strains with just as good of a cup score.  Produced by one of the best Panama farms on the block!

Tasting Notes:  A super snazzy coffee! This is best in the light to medium roast level. Punchy acidity with a complex grape skin fruity factor coming from the ASD processing. Full of sweet citric, fruit and floral tones that will catch a little balance with a spiced malty undertone. Hints of red fruit can be found especially as the cup cools. This cup is all about the brighter, fruitier characteristics but you can mute them a little if too punch by taking it to a nice medium roast, builds a little more body and malty-ness.

Roasting Notes: Light roasts are definitely the way to go with these beans, a little tricky to roast, two toned and higher chaff. Our light roast still had a couple pops going from first crack when we cooled it out and it produced an amazing clean cup. So watch for the bulk of beans to get through first crack, than cool it out, do not worry about a couple lighter beans. Will look a bit splotchy in appearance when done roasting.

Keith Pech has become a good friend over the last couple of seasons. He has some family in the U.P. (Michigan) and passes by our warehouse from time to time when visiting his family. Keith is really on the cutting edge of Panamanian coffee, he places in the the Best of Panama every year he enters.

He really hooked it up with some nice high-end Natural Processed Catuai and Typica from his farm, as well as playing our eyes and ears on the ground in Panama.  His mom is actually part of the Ruiz family who we sourced a ton of awesome Panama coffees from in years past.

Turns out Keith is buddies with all the other Panama operations we have dealt with in the past as well. Elida, HI-U, Esmeralda, Mama Cata, Nuguo, Ruiz. Quite the guy to have befriended, with being able to piggyback on his containers, we now have easy access to the best of the best.  Not only that, but with Keith playing nice and being very well-liked by these other farmers, we were able to snag top lots from the best farms in Panama, primo beans that normally never make it to the US.  Nothing else on the block like these offerings!