Release 076 - Don Benjie, SL28 Natural

Country of Origin: Panama
Variety: SL28
Process: Natural
Altitude: 1500mASL

In the cup we find flavours of blackberry, blueberry and pomegranate.

Don Benjie is a coffee farm in Bajo Mono, Alto Boquete, Panama, producing coffee across its high-altitude farm on the slopes of the Barú Volcano. We have visited the farm and are proud to work with Stefan Müller and the team, whose focus on quality and careful processing continues to produce distinctive and exceptional coffees.

Selected on our latest buying trip to Panama, we tried an array on exceptional coffee at Don Benjie and were especially impressed by the varietals. This particular lot is a SL28, varietal made in Kenya by the breeder Scott Agricultural Laboratories (SL). This variety is suitable to be planted in many different altitudes and shows resistance to drought, but is susceptible to the major diseases of coffee. SL28 is notable for its rusticity—a quality meaning that it can be left untended for years or even decades at a time, and then return to successful production. 

This particular lot at Don Benjie was processed as oxidised natural and then dried in a 18'c cold room to intensify the flavours. The result is a coffee that has a lot of red and purple fruit flavours and vibrant acidity.