Apollo from the Smallholder Selection Series in the Barú Volcano Region of PanamaCoffee Bean Intro:
Panama Barú Volcano Apollo
Panama Volcan Baru Honey Negro Apollo
Coffee Country: Panama
Coffee Region: Barú Volcano
Growing Altitude: 1600-1650m
Coffee Variety: Caturra Catuaí
Processing Method: Black Honey Process
Grade: SHB
Coffee Region
Barú Volcano ( volcan Baru） The region is located in western Panama, adjacent to the Boquete coffee-growing area , with an average altitude of over 1600 meters, featuring a unique microclimate and abundant rainfall, with significant day-night temperature variation, along with nutrient-rich volcanic soil, making it an excellent environment for coffee cultivation.
Barú Volcano is not only the highest mountain in Panama, but the sedimentary materials formed by early volcanic activity and eruptions have brought large amounts of very fertile soil, rich in minerals. The volcanic ash contains abundant phosphorus and sulfur, and combined with the unique climate patterns, this area forms an ideal environment for high-quality coffee growth. The dense forests and numerous species also contribute to biodiversity.
This coffee is produced by a 50 small cooperative formed by coffee farmers. The region employs traditional shade-grown cultivation methods, allowing coffee trees to grow in a natural environment. Although yields are lower, this approach maintains a natural environment, improves soil sustainability, and because of slower growth, it is easier to produce coffee beans with exceptional flavor, bringing better income to the farmers. . This producing region adopts traditional shade-grown cultivation methods, allowing coffee trees to grow in a natural environment. Although yields are lower, this approach helps maintain the natural ecosystem, improves sustainable soil management, and because the growth is slower, it is easier to produce coffee beans with exceptional flavor, bringing better income to coffee farmers.
Coffee Varieties
Caturra ( Caturra）
Caturra is a mutation of the Bourbon variety, discovered in Brazil in 1937. It has higher productivity and disease resistance compared to Bourbon, with shorter tree height, making it easier to harvest, adaptable, and able to thrive even under direct sunlight without shade trees, commonly referred to as sun-grown coffee ( Sun Coffee). Caturra is suitable for cultivation at low altitudes of around 700 meters up to high altitudes of 1700 meters, showing strong altitude adaptability, though the higher the altitude, the better the flavor and the relatively lower yield. Caturra is characterized by bright acidity and low to medium body. It has less clarity and sweetness than its parent Bourbon, with taste notes of lemon or citrus acidity.
Catuaí ( Catuai）
Catuaí is a hybrid between the New World variety and Caturra, offering better resistance to natural disasters, particularly wind and rain. It inherits the advantage of short tree height from Caturra, overcoming a drawback of the . A hybrid variety of New World and Caturra, it has better resistance to natural disasters, especially wind and rain. It inherits the advantage of the Caturra tree’s short stature, changing... New World variety; another advantage is its firm fruit set, which does not easily fall off in strong winds, compensating for the fragility of Arabica cherries.
Processing Method
This coffee is processed using the black honey method. First, the freshly picked red coffee cherries are collected and sorted to remove unripe and overripe defective fruits.
After sorting, the coffee fruits are put into a pulping machine to remove the skin, retaining the intact mucilage layer. Generally, the more mucilage retained, the richer the final coffee flavor and the higher the sweetness.
Then the mucilage layer is retained during the drying process. Because it is dried with the pulp removed but mucilage retained, this process takes relatively longer, typically around 18 to 25 days. During drying, continuous monitoring is required to avoid issues such as over-fermentation and mold. This processing method carries a higher risk of losing the freshness of the green beans.
When the coffee moisture content is reduced to around 11%, it is bagged and stored until export shipment, when the parchment is removed.
Roasting Curve
Cupping Notes
