Kotowa Family Reserve – A perfect blend of two legendary coffee beans from Panama.

First, many thanks to Jaime of Panama Goods for sending us this coffee to try.

We’re glad you did!

Kotowa Family Reserve coffee comes from Panama's highlands. It's grown in the scenic Boquete area, right on the El Salto plateau. Thanks to the rains from both the Pacific and Atlantic, this region makes for some unique coffees and flavor profiles.

This blend is a combination of world-famous Geisha beans, and Caturra beans.

Now for the tasting…

As always, we ground the beans immediately before brewing. And to make the coffee, we used our Bonavita brewer.

Then we left the coffee to cool for a couple of minutes before tasting.

My wife tried first, as she has a more sensitive sense of smell.

She immediately picked up on the floral notes in the aroma. That would be from the Geisha beans.

We then took our first sips.

First things first… we really, really like this coffee! And no, we don’t always say that. Sometimes we say we like a coffee, or even really like a coffee. But it is very rare that we’ll say we really, really like it!

It’s the blend we love. You can feel the lightness of the Geisha beans, and the richer flavors of the Caturra.

The coffee has a layer of cocoa or dark chocolate that contributes to the full mouth feel. It’s bold, without being harsh or bitter.

And then… my favorite part, although my wife didn’t feel it as much… a ripe plum taste that lingers, right at the very end. Fruity, but soft, without any sharpness.

It’s like the taste experience opens with the qualities of the Geisha beans, and closes with the best of the Caturra beans.

Long story short… we love this coffee! It’s a testament to how a blend can be just as good as, or even better than, a single-origin coffee.

You can find out more at the Panama Goods website.

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