Ricardo Koyner is one of the finest organic coffee producers Stumptown has ever worked with. His focused commitment to his Kotowa farm, located in Volcancito de Boquete de Chiriqui in northern Panama, allows for the high yields and tremendous quality that most organic producers are unable to attain. Kotowa means ‘mountains’ in the native indigenous language. The correct combination of rain, wind, sunshine, clouds and cool temperatures promote a great tasting cup character. Ricardo’s farm is perched on the southern facing slopes of the Baru volcano with views of the Pacific Ocean on one side and the Continental Divide on the other.
The Kotowa farm produces ‘Cafe Duncan’, which is named after Ricardo Koyner’s grandfather Alexander Duncan MacIntyre who came to Panama from Canada in 1913. Alexander read a newspaper article about an unexplored mountainous area on a mysterious volcano in the region of Boquete in the distant country of Panama. His curiosity led him to visit the region where he fell in love with the area, the people and the magic of the valley. For four generations, Alexander’s family has cultivated and processed coffee in the same traditional way.
At the Kotowa Mill, all the production and processing is done in consideration of the environment. The ecological mill uses only one liter of water per pound of green coffee, much lower than the 10 -20 liters used by many other mills in the world. All of the byproducts from the milling activity (i.e.: pulp, waste water, etc.) are used to produce the organic fertilizer which is used in the Duncan organic farm. Ricardo processes his coffee using Penagos systems to remove mucilage. He then puts the coffee into fermentation tanks for another ten hours to fully remove any remaining solids from the beans. He dries coffee on raised beds back at the Duncan farm before resting the coffee for 90 days. The latter two steps are what bring such a special characteristic to the Duncan Estate coffee profile.
New in 2011
This past year was tremendously rainy in Panama. Too much rain can negatively affect the growth rate of the coffee plants by making it more difficult for them to fight disease and keep their natural nutrients. To counteract this effect, Koyner increased the amount of organic fertilizer for each plant and the frequency of his applications. By mid harvest, the dry season finally arrived which allowed them to have a very successful harvest. Kotowa farm recently became the home for a family of wild deer, which enjoy sharing some of the coffee cherries too. This next harvest will include the first 2-3 bags from their new organically grown Geisha plants which look like they will be phenomenal.