Central American
Panama Lerida Natural
Panama Lerida Natural
We sample so many boring Panama coffees every year. They're almost all overpriced -- even when you find a really nice one, it costs more than it should. But Panama DOES churn out really, really good coffee, you just have to either pay through the nose or else hunt far and wide to find it.
This one comes from the Lerida Estate which is less of an estate, and more like a tropical rain forest. There are trails throughout the ecological reserve, and over 500 species of birds live here. Exotic fruits and plants are abundant -- and even more importantly -- respected. The coffee growing in the reserve is seen as a bonus, not the primary focus.
This is a microlot of natural processed coffee, of which they only produce a few dozen bags. These sun-dried beans are of stellar quality -- they are well-sorted and very clean with few defects. It's all single varietal Catuai and hand processed.
It's easy to roast and behaves pretty much exactly like a natural Ethiopian coffee. However, I take it 4 degrees darker than an Ethiopia. The taste is sweet and fruity -- matcha green tea, honeydew melon, creamy, bubble gum. No earthiness. Not muddled. Just a really pleasant and unique Central American natural.
This coffee arrived in the USA in October 2020.