Panama Premium Boquete – Mama Cata Estate – Pacamara Natural

Description

Only 3 pounds left! 

Mama Cata is a very top notch award winning farm that very seldom makes it to the US. Located in Boquete, the best growing territory in Panama, Jose’s highest elevation and most renowned farm is Mama Cata. He owns Garrido Estate as well as some other smaller farms.  Some of the biggest names in Panama coffee are also located in this prime territory, Hacienda Esmeralda and Elida Estate are neighbors.  Since his coffee is almost always obtained by foreign markets, many in the US have not heard the name Mama Cata before.

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).  Jose always has a ton of his coffees in the Best of Panama competition which will happen in late Sept, we know he will take some awards, does almost every season! This farm knows how to grow/process some of the world’s best
coffee.

Pacamara is a hybrid strain of arabica that when done properly will have a real nice sweet edge; coming from the Pacas strain of arabica, while its bean size and fuller bodied features coming from the Maragogype strain. A perfect match. This is an unscreened lot, so you will notice some larger than others but you cannot miss how large they are compared to most even larger screened coffees.

Tasting Notes: A wonderful micro-lot best at the light to medium roast points. A delicate cup that holds true to its strain, sweet edged, good body with a lovely overlay of lemony floral acidity fading into soft fruit tones. Although tasty from light to dark, be a little careful, as one pushes to a strong medium roast, it will start muting up the sweet floral and fruity tones that make this cup shine. Light roasts are a little front loaded, just pretty floral and fruity, a little higher acidity without much for a darker toned balance, a little nutty in the aftertaste as the cup cools. Perfect for a natural processed fan but many will prefer a medium roast where one can find some balance with a fuller bodied chocolaty factor. Easy to roast out the cool floral/fruit tones so I tend to recommend erroring a little lighter on the roast spectrum.

Roasting Notes: High chaff and slightly uneven roasting. Wonderful beans processed to perfection, seeing and hearing first crack should not be a problem, if nothing else, the higher amounts of chaff coming off are a great sign. Signs of a sheen on the surface and we recommend cooling it out or risk a much more plain tasting coffee. 24 hours setup is recommended, with the already heavier floral/fruit tones in the cup, can come off a bit more soury for the first day or two after 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!