Description
Although the beans are grown by Finca Stacy, Keith and his dad do all the processing for them. This stellar lot made it to Damarli Estate Noble coffee standing, which are the top lots, very high scoring coffees and the best the farm has to offer. Higher rated coffees are often exotic and high acidity, including this one. A very fruit forward coffee with moderate acidity. Not for everyone but those who love a fruit forward complex cup will love this cup. Imperial Honey, this is a fermentation treatment done to process the beans. They put the full coffee cherry in tanks with special yeasts to get a perfect level of fermentation, then they pull off the skin of the fruit before it hits the drying trays. Flipping it often while making sure it does not dry too quick or too slow. A lot of care and love went into these beans.
This is season four working with Damarli Estate and boy is it paying off. Keith Pech, owner of Damarli Estate has some family in the U.P. (Michigan) and passes by our warehouse from time to time visiting his family. Keith is really on the cutting edge of Panamanian coffee, this was a rough year for Damarli, crazy shortages but we were still able to get our hands on 40 pounds of his best coffee!
This is the neighboring small boutique farm to Keith and his dad, they do not have processing equipment but being in some of the best growing territory and sharing a border with what we consider the best Panamian coffee farmers on the block, who have some of the most advanced processing equipment and techniques does have its benefits. Turned out very lovely.
Tasting Notes: A very jazzy cup of coffee with a strong natural processed spin. Lighter roasting points (before 2nd crack) are where this cup will shine. Light roasts themselves will be fairly bright with pretty strong citrus floral and fruit tones, very tasty if you like such things. The fruitiness is wild, ranging from grape to more traditionally red fruit. The cup will be pretty front loaded at the light roast points but a little chocolaty factor can be found when the cup cools. Medium roasts bring much more balance to the cup with some darker tones but tone it down a bit, which is good for some, bad for others. Too close to 2nd crack and the acidity and fruit is almost removed from the cup, still tasty but a shame to lose those exotic winy/fruity and floral tones. Darker roasts taste good but mostly full of roasty and semi-sweet chocolate tones.
Roasting Notes: A bit dependent on personal taste what to do with this coffee but in general easy to roast. High chaff stuff, a good idea to do a smaller batch, make sure you don’t overwhelm your chaff collection method. If you like acidity, floral and fruit tones, the front loaded light roast cup is pretty cool stuff. If you like traditional Panama and Central American coffee, good to go into the medium roast points to get some darker toned balance. Darker roasts are not recommended but tasty for you darker roast Panama lovers. One can get close to the dark roast profile of this cup with cheaper coffee.
Damarli Estate is a specialty coffee farm located in Boquete, Panama. The estate dates back to 1995 when David Pech, a photographer in the United States and his wife Lia Pech (Ruiz) bought the farm from a bank foreclosure. Lia’s family, the Ruiz family, had been heavily involved in the coffee industry in Boquete for four generations; thus David and Lia were encouraged to get involved with the family industry as well.
Damarli, as a name came from a combination of the original investors: David and Lia and David’s father and mother (Manfred and Ruth Pech) – DA- for David, MA- for Manfred, R – for Ruth and LI – for Lia.
The estate was planted in 1996 and began to produce in 2001. For over one decade Damarli Estate sold the raw coffee cherries to Casa Ruiz, which was Lia’s family’s coffee business. In 2014, David and Lia’s son Keith moved from the United States to Panama in order to begin a new project at Damarli Estate. This was the beginning of a new chapter for the beans.
Keith began to identify all the unique coffee varieties that were grown at Damarli Estate and market them internationally. Keith and David began to process their own coffee at the estate in a way that would create sweet and unique cup profiles that had little to no water waste. They built a house on the estate to accept visitors, a new mill and drying beds to process all the coffees and a coffee tasting lab to accept international buyers. Damarli Estate is a beautiful farm filled with tropical birds, tall canopy forests and enchanting sunrises.
Max –
I roasted this coffee light (stopped it before 1st crack was finished) and used it for straight espresso. The flavors were incredible. Nice brightness without astringency. Complex flavor profile with a beautiful finish that lingered for a long time after I finished the shot.
Jay –
Disclaimer: New home roaster here.
Following a steep learning curve with the SR540, I settled in on a roasting profile that provided a gradual drying phase and balanced middle and development phases thereafter. This bean delivered a very drinkable and delicious cup of coffee. Smooth, balanced acidity with a clean mouth feel and finish. We consumed this without cream or sugar. It was wonderful. Note: High chaff during roasting, nearly clogged the collector using 140g in.
Dave (verified owner) –
It’s a good coffee, but it has some herbal and floral flavors that are not for everyone’s liking. I loved it, but the rest of the family was not too impressed.. however when I cold brewed it they quickly changed their mind.
Rushad Daruwala –
Roasted just past 1st crack. The coffee was a smooth, bright with a sweet slightly fermented taste, notes I have found in some anerobic fermented beans. I loved it but its unique flavors may not work for everyone.
Jeff –
I use a Behmor drum roaster on manual and roasted it to just before 2nd crack and let it rest for a day. I will echo what the others are saying that the floral flavors I am getting are not what some will like. It definitely has a lasting aftertaste too. The aroma reminded me of redwoods!