Panama — El Salto Premium Coffee (Suárez Family) Camiseta Yellow Bourbon "La Cascada," Lot #018 (Natural)

Tastes Like — 🍊 Citrus • 🍬 Candy • 🍵 Tea-Like • ✨ Silky

DETAILS

• Producer: El Salto Premium Coffee (Carlos & Laura Suárez, Grupo Vicala)
• Farm: Camiseta
• Region: El Salto, Boquete, Chiriquí, Panama
• Varietal: Yellow Bourbon
• Process: Natural
• Altitude: 1,780 masl
• Picked: 21 January 2026
• Lot: #018
• Roast Profile: Lighter roast

INTRO
Lot 018 from the Suárez family's Camiseta farm in El Salto, the cool high ground above Boquete. Bright citrus and candy sweetness, tea-like and silky. In the cup: citrus, candy, tea-like, and silky.

THE PRODUCER
The Suárez family's coffee roots in Boquete go back to 1900, when Abdeliat Suadi arrived from Bethlehem and locals renamed him Domingo Suárez. In 1948 his youngest son Vidal and wife Eira Gutiérrez de Suárez started their own farm in El Salto, first planting Camiseta with Typica and buying neighbouring land until they were among Boquete's five largest producers. Today two of their six children, Carlos and Laura, run the farms as Grupo Vicala under the El Salto Premium Coffee name, across Camiseta, Los Limones, and Doña Eira, between 1,500 and 1,780 masl, growing Typica, Yellow Catuaí, Laurina, and Geisha, among others. Temperatures in El Salto run 13–22°C.

Yellow Bourbon emerged near Pederneiras, São Paulo, around 1930, when a few Red Bourbon trees began ripening yellow fruit; a single gene pair (xanthocarpa) turns the cherry yellow. For decades a curiosity, it became a specialty favourite after 2005 and scored 92.33 at the 2017 Cup of Excellence. It ripens early, yields little, and catches leaf rust easily, but done right gives a round, sweet cup with soft acidity, citrus, ripe fruit, and a syrupy body.

THE PROCESS
The cherries were floated and sorted by hand, then sealed in tanks for 48 hours before drying whole. They dried 29 days in the shade on African beds, cooled by the mountain breeze, and finished with 12 hours in a static dryer at 37°C.

The 48-hour sealed-tank rest followed by 29 days of slow shaded drying is the defining combination. It builds the candy sweetness and silky texture while keeping the cup bright and tea-like.

THE CUP
Bright and silky: citrus and candy sweetness lead, with a tea-like finish.

Flavour Notes
🍊 Citrus 🍬 Candy 🍵 Tea-Like ✨ Silky