Panama Don Julian Pacamara Natural

Arrived late August 2023, new crop.  This is a Direct Trade coffee received by airfreight, vacuum packed. It is always in short supply

This is one of the best quality years for this coffee in recent memory.  This year had ideal growing conditions and all of the coffee crops in Panama were more sizeable than the scant one that preceded it.  Don Julian's entire production of Pacamara Natural is extremely small but we have a supply through our longstanding Direct Trade relationship and friendship with the producer. Despite the small amount, the coffee is delicious.

This Panama Pacamara happens to be one of our all time favorites. We were lucky enough to visit the farm a where this incredible coffee is grown a couple of times, and on arrival it is clear that the extraordinary taste of the coffee is the direct result of the extraordinary characteristics of the farm. At first perusal you might assume that you were walking through a nature preserve, where coffee trees are surrounded by other plants and enormous shade trees tower above. It is no accident that the farm feels this way; the owner, Mrs. Burneskis, thinks the farm should be left in as natural a state as possible. She has a level of respect and connectivity for the coffee plants that really comes to light when you walk through the sprawling greenery. Finca Don Julian is located about 1600 meters above sea level and grows their coffee in rich, black volcanic soil. The growing area being in a protected tropical rainforest gives the coffee a unique flavor, great acidity and bold body.

Pacamara is a hybrid of two coffee varietals: Pacas, which is a Bourbon mutation, and Maragogipe, which is a Typica mutation. It was developed in El Salvador in the mid-twentieth century. The mixture at its best produces very deep, brothy flavors that always seem reminiscent of dark fruit like plums, raisins and prunes. It is a natural processed coffee, a brief explanation of which is required to understand the terminology. Since the advent of micro milling machines, most notably that developed by Penagos in Colombia, small farms have the ability to process their own coffee for a somewhat modest cost of entry. These machines use pressurized water mist to strip away the outer skin of the coffee cherry, and can remove pulp (the fruit surrounding the coffee husk) to a fine tolerance, leaving selective amounts of pulp to dry on the husk. When all the pulp is removed it is fully washed. When a tiny amount remains, it is called yellow honey; when a little more remains it is considered red honey, and a lot remaining is black honey. Neither the skin nor the pulp being removed results in a natural processed coffee (like this one).The entire cherry, once cleaned, is spread onto raised tables where they slowly dry.  The cherries need turning throughout the day to prevent mold from forming and to facilitate even drying.