Panama - Symbiosis, Iris Estate
Panama - Symbiosis, Iris Estate
Panama - Symbiosis, Iris Estate
Panama - Symbiosis, Iris Estate
Panama - Symbiosis, Iris Estate
Panama - Symbiosis, Iris Estate
Panama - Symbiosis, Iris Estate
Panama - Symbiosis, Iris Estate
Panama - Symbiosis, Iris Estate
Panama - Symbiosis, Iris Estate

Panama - Symbiosis, Iris Estate

355.00 Sale Save

jasmine, strawberry, dried mango, clementine

Weight 200 grams
Roast Profile Filter

Producer: Jamison Savage / Iris Estate
Farm: Iris Estate
Location: Volcan, Chiriqui, Panama
Variety: Green Tip Geisha
Process: Natural Anaerobic
Altitude: 1,850 - 2,300 masl

Fermentation
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Jamison Savage of Finca Deborah, Iris Estate, and Savage Coffees is known throughout the specialty coffee world due to his pioneering methods.

Engaged in progressive processing techniques and farming practices respectful of nature, Jamison lets the most favorable, naturally occurring sensory nuances of a coffee shine on the palate. It’s a feat accomplished by few and evidently appreciated worldwide, as national and world coffee competitors frequently choose to showcase his coffees.

2016 saw his prowess shine brighter when Taiwan’s Berg Wu won the World Barista Championship using a Geisha from Finca Deborah. Since then, numerous national champions have entrusted Jamison to design coffees for their routines on the world stage. Among them are our very own WBrC representative David Disuanco and France's Charity Cheung.

It was in the early 2000s when Jamison, at the height of his finance career in the US, decided a change was in order. He longed for a freer lifestyle to give himself and his family a chance to spend more time outdoors and to travel. At the same time, he was looking for a real estate asset to fill a gap in his investment portfolio.

In our 2022 Producer’s Talk, Jamison shared that they were choosing between Panama and New Zealand. Panama eventually won out for practical reasons and the sheer beauty and promise of the land. Their deliberation and preparation took about five years and culminated in 2008, the year the Savage family uprooted and started anew on foreign soil. They made their new home in the Volcan region of the Chiriqui province, the seat of Panama Geisha cultivation and home to Finca Deborah, Iris Estate, and Savage Coffees.

Iris Estate, the latest in Jamison’s pursuit of the perfect cup, is a collaboration with Sasa Sestic of Project Origin and Elvin Chin Wei of Cloud Catcher. Situated at extreme elevations amid the pristine environs of Volcan, Iris Estate’s founders believe it is where all the ideal conditions converge for ‘super-specialty’ coffee to ‘create itself.’

Panama Geisha cherries take their time to sweeten in the cooler temperatures at the extreme altitudes of Iris Estate, aided by the right amount of shade and sunlight owing to the luxuriant rainforest cover and the farm’s favorable orientation to the sun.

Processed with tact and intention, Iris Estate Symbiosis is another eloquent expression of the very land it grew on.

Symbiosis started with harvesting perfectly ripe Geisha cherries, registering 21-24 on the BRIX meter. These cherries were twice sorted and selected before being deposited into hermetically sealed, stainless steel tanks, where they remained for upwards of 100 hours.

During this period, temperature and PH were monitored, ensuring these variables stayed within pre-defined limits. Following their extended stay inside the sealed tanks, the cherries were removed and laid out on the three-tiered, raised African bed system designed by Jamison.

Throughout the drying phase, temperatures, humidity, and airflow were also maintained within specific parameters in the shaded drying areas, also referred to as dry houses, as the cherries were consistently and carefully shifted throughout the day for even drying. These steps were carried out to prevent undesired microbial activity from occurring and to promote the development only of desired flavors.

The cherries spent around 30 days on the drying beds before reaching the proper moisture level of approximately 11%. To protect the quality that had painstakingly been created, they were then bagged in Grain-pro and stored under optimal conditions of cool and stable temperatures for a reposo or seasoning process critical in Jamison's stringent end-to-end QC protocol.

In reposo, the coffee's moisture content stabilized while allowing it to keep absorbing more flavor from its parchment or shell, before being hulled and further sorted by size, density, and color, and finally shipped to us.

About the Panama Geisha

Panama Geisha, of which Green Tip Geisha is one variation, is a rare, delicate, and complex variety well-loved for its sweet florality and citrus highlights. Since its debut win at the Best of Panama auction in 2004, it has kept specialty coffee lovers everywhere captivated by its endless possibilities, delicacy, complexity, and clarity of flavors. As such, it is often showcased on coffee competition stages by a great number of coffee champions, and it also continues to fetch the highest prices.

While a coffee’s truest intrinsic qualities are still largely believed to be showcased best by traditional washed processing due to the demucilaging, washing, and scrubbing steps removing all traces of fruit from the bean, the expertise of seasoned and passionate producers like Jamison Savage allows them to direct the flavor character of the Panama Geisha towards a seemingly endless diversity of delightfully surprising trajectories.

They do this through the purposeful implementation of traditional methods like the natural and honey processes, as well as intentional and innovative processing styles, such as this Natural Anaerobic process, which add to the complexity of the cup’s character — for example, more layers of flavor or better mouthfeel — without compromising its inherent qualities from terroir and variety.

brewing guide

- Ready your brewing tools ahead.
- Keep your coffee gear and containers clean.
- Decide and adjust your grind size based on:
— Your coffee’s roast date
— Your brewing method
- Be consistent with water quality and measuring weight, ratios, and time.
- Remember!
— Let your palate help you personalize the best recipe for you.
— Brew often and have fun!

More about Brewing here.

FOR FILTER

  • COFFEE-TO-WATER RATIO: 1:15
  • COFFEE GRIND SIZE: Medium fine
  • (like table salt; 21-28 clicks in Comandante MK4 and 14-18 clicks in Timemore C2)
  • COFFEE AGE: 7-14 days, ideally
  • COFFEE DOSE: 17 grams
  • WATER WEIGHT: 255 mL
  • WATER TEMPERATURE: 90°C-93°C
  • TARGET BREW TIME: 02:30 - 03:00

1. Heat water to 90°C-93°C

2. Arrange your brewing set-up.

— Place your dripper on the carafe & filter paper in the dripper.

— Rinse the filter paper with hot water & remove the rinsing water from the carafe.

3. Switch on your scale.

4. Measure out 17 g of coffee & grind to Medium Fine.

5. Place the carafe and dripper with the rinsed filter paper onto the scale, & tare.

6. Transfer the ground coffee to the dripper; then, tare.

7. Start the timer!

First pour to bloom, 55ml for 30 seconds.

Second pour, 100 ml at 00:30.

Third pour, the final 100ml at 01:15

8. Target to finish the brew within 02:30 to 03:00 minutes.

9. Serve & enjoy!