Don Pepe Java – Panama

In the cup you get pineapple and mango, berries and a floral note of jasmine, over a winey character. The acidity is bright and clean, the body medium and syrupy, and the sweetness medium to high. The lot, from the 2025 crop, is rated 88+ points by our green coffee supplier.

Don Pepe Estate is a family farm growing coffee since 1898 in Volcancito, Boquete, on the slopes of the Barú volcano, and describes itself as the first company in Panama dedicated to coffee. It covers 70 hectares: 59 of coffee and 11 of natural reserve. The soil is volcanic, the average temperature about 21 °C, and rainfall about 2,950 mm a year. Antonio “Don Tony” Vásquez (1952–2016) took the farm’s coffee across borders; he used to say he would not rest until he brought it to other continents. In 2015, an espresso from the farm’s Geisha, roasted in California, scored 96 points at Coffee Review and placed 6th in its yearly top 30.

Java was long taken for a Typica selection. According to World Coffee Research, genetic analysis shows it as a selection from an Ethiopian population called Abyssinia. It passed through the island of Java, which gave it its name, then Cameroon and Costa Rica. Also according to them, Panama was the first Central American country to officially recognize it, in 2016. It has large beans, shows its potential at high altitude, and World Coffee Research describes it as an interesting alternative to Geisha.

Each variety is grown, harvested and processed separately, as a pure lot. The coffee dries on raised African beds and is stored by variety and harvest day, and classification begins after it has rested in the cellars.

Anaerobic Natural means fermentation happens in an environment with limited or no oxygen, and the coffee then dries in the whole cherry.

We roast it to keep the tropical fruit and sweetness clear, so the producer’s work comes through in the cup.