Manhattan Coffee Roasters - Santa Teresa, Washed | Panama
Description
Panama — Grant Fleming Finca Santa Teresa Caturra & Catuai (Washed)
Tastes Like — 🍏 Green Apple • 🍓 Raspberry • 🌺 Hibiscus
DETAILS
Producer: Grant Fleming
Farm: Finca Santa Teresa
Region: Santa Clara, Panama
Varietal: Caturra & Catuai
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1,550 MASL
Size: 250g
INTRO
Finca Santa Teresa is a long-standing partner of Manhattan Coffee Roasters, and this Washed Caturra and Catuai is a compelling showcase of what Santa Clara's high-altitude, shade-grown conditions can produce. In the cup: crisp green apple and raspberry, lifted by floral hibiscus and a silky mouthfeel.
THE PRODUCER
Grant Fleming's Finca Santa Teresa sits on a beautiful east-facing plot in Santa Clara, Panama — a region defined by rich volcanic soils, surrounding rainforests, and the cooling influence of altitude that together create ideal conditions for slow cherry development. The farm's Caturra and Catuai trees are over twelve years old and shade-grown, a combination that concentrates complexity in the cup and reflects the careful, unhurried approach Fleming brings to his land.
Manhattan Coffee Roasters have worked closely with the team at Finca Santa Teresa for a number of years, and the relationship speaks to a shared commitment to quality — FST's primary production centres on large-scale but exceptionally high-quality traditional varieties, underpinned by the farm's extraordinary terroir.
THE PROCESS
The Washed process at Finca Santa Teresa involves:
🍒 Hand-picking — Cherries selected at peak ripeness from shade-grown trees 💧 Floating — Immersion to remove defects prior to pulping 🔧 De-pulping — Skin removed following sorting 🧪 Fermentation — Mucilage broken down under controlled conditions 💧 Washing — Beans thoroughly cleaned to remove fermentation by-products ☀️ Raised-bed drying — Dried to optimal moisture content
The Washed process is well-suited to Santa Clara's terroir — by removing the fruit cleanly and drying with precision, the process allows the inherent character of the Caturra and Catuai varieties to come through with clarity and definition.
THE CUP
A clean, elegant Washed coffee from one of Panama's most reliable high-altitude estates — Finca Santa Teresa's Caturra and Catuai is a testament to what well-farmed traditional varieties, grown slowly under shade at elevation, are capable of. Bright, floral, and finely balanced, with a silky mouthfeel that carries the fruit long into the finish.
Flavour Notes
🍏 Green Apple 🍓 Raspberry 🌺 Hibiscus
