Lot TN-07: RIO CRISTAL

The name KOTOWA comes from the native language and means "mountains".
Kotowa farms have consistently won many awards and has always had coffees in the final tables in BOP since 1996 when the first competition took place. Kotowa has also won the 2014 and 2016 Panama Cup awarded to the best overall coffee producer.

Rio Cristal farm is on the north eastern side of Boquete, very close to the continental divide. It has a unique microclimate because the farm gets few Pacific rain from May to Dec and mostly Atlantic in the month of Jan-Feb. Rio Cristal is at 1800m but being closer to the continental divide the temperatures can be lower than in other similar altitudes, lowering to around 9°C at night. Rio Cristal is in the western slope of the continental divide which is normally very sunny In the mornings but slightly windy due to the Atlantic influence. The different cupping notes are influenced by the combination of soil profiles due to the fact that they are the oldest in the mountains of Panama.
For the Wine process we wait for a very overripe stage to harvest. After harvesting, we place in the shade for several days and then we move the beans to a specially designed dryer where no hot air is used. This is a machine with a dehumidifier system, with cool air, where we remove the water without heat, allowing for cool drying system to even concentrate more the sugars in the Wine Process.
After drying, we place all beans in a resting facility for at least 4 months with controlled air temperature of 16°C and a relative humidity of 65% to ensure the correct environment for the resting and intaking of the flavors of the drying process.