Panama - Kotowa Duncan Estate Ethiopian Heirloom | Natural

Origin

• 🇵🇦 Panama· Boquete

Tasting notes

Character

• Funky

Kotowa Coffee was established in 1918 by Canadian immigrant Alexander Duncan. The name "Kotowa" comes from the indigenous Ngäbe-Buglé language, meaning "mountain," reflecting the estate's highland location. Today, the estate is managed by Alexander Duncan's descendants, with Richard Koyner, a member of the Duncan family, playing a key role in its operations. Richard, whose mother was a Duncan, has continued the family tradition of producing specialty coffee. The estate's farms sit in the volcanic highlands of Boquete, Chiriquí, on the slopes of Volcán Barú, Panama's highest point. Volcanic soil, altitudes of 1,650 to 1,800+ masl, temperatures of 13 to 22°C, and a dual-ocean rainfall pattern (Pacific rain from May to November, Atlantic rain from December to January) shape the growing conditions there. Along with varietals like GeishaGesha (Geisha)A rare, jasmine-and-bergamot scented variety originally from Ethiopia's Gesha forest, made famous by Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda. Routinely the most expensive coffee at auction., CaturraCaturraA natural dwarf mutation of Bourbon found in Brazil: compact plants, easier picking, bright and clean cup. A workhorse across Latin America., and TypicaTypicaThe oldest cultivated arabica lineage, ancestor of most Latin American coffee. Low yield, clean and sweet cup; the baseline other varieties are measured against., Kotowa also grows rare Ethiopian wild varieties, including the Ethiopian HeirloomHeirloom (Ethiopia)A catch-all label for Ethiopia's thousands of indigenous, largely uncatalogued coffee varieties — used when a lot's exact genetics are unknown. in this lot. Cherries are handpicked, with harvesters returning up to five times per season to select only the ripest fruit. Ply and Rogue Wave Coffee have had the incredible opportunity to visit the Kotowa Duncan Estate, where we were blown away by the complexity and care that went into every coffee the farmers produced. Ply returns yearly to reconnect and source Geisha lots that capture the depth and character of the terroirTerroirBorrowed from wine: the way a place — soil, altitude, climate, even neighboring crops — expresses itself in the cup, independent of variety and process.. Recommendation: RestingRoast date / restingSpecialty bags carry the roast date, not a best-before. Coffee needs days to degas CO₂ after roasting ('resting') and is typically best within weeks, not months. time: 3-4 weeks Filter brew: 1:16-16.5, 92c