Carmen Francheschi
The Carmen Estate was founded in 1960. The estate was named for its first owner, Carmen Francheschi, who purchased the land together with her husband Efrain. Carmen lies on the western slopes of the Baru Volcano, near the town of Volcán, a long drive from the more famous centre of Boquete on the eastern side. The land was passed down through the family until it landed with Carlos Aguilera Francheschi, Carmen and Efrain’s grandson. Carlos steered the Estate through Panama’s great boom following the discovery of Geisha on the other side of the volcano, by the Peterson family at Hacienda La Esmeralda.
Carlos was already growing excellent coffee, but began planting more Geisha, and aiming for the premium coffee market. Over the intervening 20 years, the Francheschi family continued their investment in quality, holding onto talented members of staff and improving infrastructure on the farm. This resulted in consistent placings in the Best of Panama competition, including a win in 2023 with a lot of washed Geisha which broke the world record for a price paid at auction, breaking the $10,000/kg mark.
Excellent Raw Material
Nowadays, the farm is run by manager Jean Paul Langenstein, who originally started with the company as a roaster, before gaining a great deal of experience in coffee production and management. We visited in April 2024 and spent the day with JP, walking the farm and understanding what makes Carmen so special. This is an excellent blend of modern and traditional farming know-how.
The conditions here are truly something special, requiring minimal inputs in order to produce excellent quality. The rich black volcanic soil and superb drainage on the steep slopes are excellent for coffee, while this side of the volcano is more influenced by the cooling winds from the Pacific, compared to the warmer Caribbean influence in Boquete. The cool nights are coupled with dry sunny days, leading to optimal growing conditions, with slowly maturing trees thriving at high altitude under abundant native shade. This allows Carmen to use agricultural practices that maintain ecological awareness. Today, Carmen are able to manage insects without using any pesticides, and conserve soil health in such a way that they can produce excellent quality each year without using chemical fertilisers or herbicides. The Geisha trees in Panama, and especially here are some of the most lush and green we have ever seen on our travels in coffee.
A Traditional Approach
Processing is mainly washed, maintaining the clean, complex and floral profiles we associate with Panama. Here, the most modern equipment allows for precise control over de-pulping, fermentation and drying in order to produce consistently excellent cups. This approach is an excellent balance, where considered processing simply allows inherent character to shine, rather than create new character.
The inherent character of this lot is something rather special. The trees on the highest reaches on the farm, at over 2200 masl, are some of the oldest, dating from the original plantings at Carmen, long before the re-discovery of Geisha in 2004. These Caturra trees are now over 60 years old; the owners often discuss replacing them with Geisha, but they still have so much value due to the quality they produce, and as some of the oldest remaining trees on the farm. In the cup, this carefully produced washed lot is a very fine example of Caturra, with great depth, sweetness and intensity. Here, this is reminiscent of a deep molasses sweetness balanced by fresh and juicy lemon.