Panama Savage Coffee - Geisha, Extended Carbonic Maceration Parabolic Process

Savage Coffee; Jamison Savage; Volcan, Chiriqui, Panama; Geisha; Extended Carbonic Maceration Parabolic Process; 2024

Purple Flowers and Fruits | Caramel and Milk Chocolate

The Panamanian coffee industry is centred in the Chiriquí province of Panama’s northern highlands and is concentrated in the areas of Boquete and Volcán. Also called the Valley of Flowers and Eternal Spring, these areas are perched on the sides of the Baru Volcano and surrounding foothills. It is in these idyllic locales that truly distinct and unique coffees are produced. These highlands are blessed with terroir consisting of highly volcanic, enriched soil, abundant moisture, diverse microclimates, regular rainfall, dense vegetation, and cloud cover to nourish the coffee trees. This in turn contributes to the production of fine shade grown coffees with incredibly complex flavor characteristics.

In 2008, Jamison and Leslie Savage moved their family from USA to the Republic of Panama where they established the renowned Finca Deborah, an extreme elevation farm dedicated to cultivating the exotic Geisha variety. Jamison has a reputation for being the tip of the spear when it comes to processing coffee in unique and interesting ways. It is easy to label Jamison as a coffee enthusiast. However, his passion extends far beyond conventional boundaries. His pursuit of perfection has made him a pioneer in coffee processing, experimenting with different techniques, borrowing methods from multiple industries, and incorporating them into the coffee production process. The wine sector, in particular, has been a significant source of inspiration. This is where much of his knowledge and inspiration with Biodynamic cultivation, Carbonic Maceration and Anaerobic processing were developed.

Savage Family has 4 estates - Finca Deborah, Iris Estate, Morgan Estate and Don Eduardo Estate. Their Savage Coffee brand is a collaboration of boutique coffee producers from Boquete Valley and Volcan, Panama, led by Jamison Savage, who work together to develop some of Panama's finest coffees. This coffee uses a deeply extended natural carbonic maceration (CM) process they call Parabolic Process. The secret is in the extent of their CM process, which is unknown. During the natural drying process, they aim a moisture content of 11%. 

This coffee is part of our Touring Series.

Roast Level
The moisture is lower than 11% by a bit and we suspect it could be due to the storage conditions of the stockist. As expected, the coffee roasts a different profile from how Savage Coffee is roasting. The quintessential Geisha notes do not fail to disappoint. They are a complex spectrum of notes, which we characterised into purples notes - think violet, orchid, raisin, blackcurrants. Alongside these notes, the coffee is caramel and milk chocolate forward. Of course, the coffee is very lightly roasted, with a medium ROR after first crack and a short time of development.

Brew Flavour
4 days after roast, the dry fragrance is typical Gesha, with limey and floral notes. In the cup, the notes are purple overlaid with caramel sweetness, dark chocolates and chocolate mousse. We detected berries, raisins, violet, orchid. Even though it is a light roast, the acidity is balanced - when it is hot, there is a short note of sourness, but this does not linger and quickly disappears. When the brew becomes cooler, its increasing sweetness takes centre-stage and the basket of fruits and flowers are fused into a mixed fruit juice. The mouthfeel is smooth and syrupy from hot to cold. The afterflavour is clean and medium, with raisin-like notes that linger in the nose.

This is our brew recipe, with Timemore Crystal Eye on a Mola Abaca paper, at 15g @ 750 μm to 260ml of 90°C water. To contextualise the grind size, it is in between the sizes of salt and sugar.

0th sec - Add 50g of water
30th - 120th sec - Add 70g of water to 120g
130th - 170th sec - Add 130g of water to 250g

Bypass with 10g of water


All coffees will be in whole beans. If you require the coffees to be ground, please inform us in the order notes whether you wish it to be: espresso, moka, filter or cold brew.


Savouring our world in a cup!
Enjoy!