Panama, Kiva Estate
Notes: Chocolate ice-cream, raisin, buttery pastry & whiskey.
Origin: Panama, Toabre, 450 masl
Producer: Kiva Estate
Coffea: Canephora
Variety: BRS2314
Process: Slow Dried Anaerobic Natural
At a time when a lot of young people choose to leave the coffee industry, a group of friends in Toabre, Panama chose to enter it. The trio comes from different backgrounds – IT, marketing and management. Their friendship of 30 years was a strong foundation for coming together with the goal of producing Panama's best Canephora as Kiva Estate.
Panama is known for producing some of the world's most prestigious coffee lots. Specifically, this small country is known for the Gesha variety. These coffees are famous for their sweet and elegant characteristics and their producers for carefully employing agricultural and processing methods that result in what many people call a true expression of terroir and varietal. We are not purists however, and neither is Kiva Estate.
This lot is called “Rufina” and is named after a Panamanian revolutionary - Rufina Alfaro who is remembered for her beauty, diplomacy and peaceful contribution to Panama's independence. This lot is meant to represent the beauty of this species and the peaceful uprising in an Arabica dominated market.
The BRS2314 variety grown at 450 masl and a latitude of 8.65 has been processed as an anaerobic slow dried natural. For an extended period of time the coffee cherries were submerged under water and fermented. Afterwards they were slowly dried in a temperature controlled environment. This process no doubt required patience and skill to execute at such a level. The slower fermentation at slightly lower temperatures allowed for the process to unlock elegant and refined flavors seldomly found in Canephora grown at this altitude.