Panama — Carmen Estate Caturra

Panama — Carmen Estate Caturra

This Caturra lot was selectively hand harvested and dried whole under the sun on open patios, with careful movement throughout drying to maintain consistency.

The estate describes the style as ‘winey’, distinguishing it from larger-scale natural production while remaining grounded in traditional natural processing methods that emphasise sweetness and fruit definition.

Grown at altitude in fertile volcanic soils, it delivers a fruit-forward profile with rich sweetness and a smooth, rounded mouthfeel.

Natural-processed coffees tend to emphasize fruit and wine-like characteristics, and Assembly Coffee's offering from Carmen Estate in Panama exemplifies this approach with Caturra. The roaster describes this lot with winey, fruit-forward, and sweet qualities, balanced by a smooth body. Natural processing allows the fruit contact with the bean during drying to shape the cup's flavor expression, contributing to the wine-forward notes Assembly identifies here. Caturra, a traditional varietal still valued for its balanced productivity and cup complexity, performs particularly well under this natural method when grown in Panama's distinctive terroir.