Panama Volcán Candela Coffee

A highland coffee from Volcán, in western Panama, where an old volcano has enriched the soil. The cup is floral and elegant: jasmine, peach and bergamot, with a cocoa finish that keeps it grounded. Brewed on a V60 at 93°C.

Origin & Story

Volcán is a highland town in western Chiriquí, about 1,400 meters up and close to the Costa Rican border. It sits on an old lava flow from Volcán Barú, the volcano that looms over it. Barú last erupted about 450 years ago, and the ash and rock it threw out left the ground around it rich enough to grow coffee, vegetables, flowers and pasture for dairy cattle.

Coffee people often call the area Volcán-Candela, after the town and the neighboring highlands of Candela. Farms here grow from roughly 1,200 to 1,800 meters, with Geisha, Typica, Caturra, Catuaí and Bourbon among the varieties, and the region is counted with Boquete and Renacimiento as one of Panama's three main specialty-coffee areas.

Compared with Boquete, Volcán is drier and sunnier, with less of the mist that settles over the Boquete side. The weather is springlike all year, with afternoon highs in the mid-20s Celsius and nights in the upper teens, and a dry season that starts around mid-December and lasts about four months.

Importers often describe Volcán coffees as floral and delicate, and this cup fits that: jasmine and bergamot on top, peach beneath, and a cocoa finish that keeps it grounded.

A V60 lets those aromas come through clearly. Use water at 93°C, a medium-fine grind and 14.4 g of coffee for a 240 ml cup.

Reading the Flavor Profile

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