Carmen Estate has been producing and exporting high quality Arabica coffee for over 50 years. Carlos Aguilera was the third generation owner of the single estate and mill set up by his grandparents, Efrain and Carmen Franceschi in 1960. Currently, Carmen Estate is own by Panama Red Carmen Café Trading. Currently, the production is oversee by Jean Paul Jangenstein Wachter.

Carmen consistently places in the top 5 in specialty cupping contests each year, and in 2023, they won Best of Panama in the Washed Category with a record breaking price of US$10500/KG.

Their agricultural practices are based on a set of principles which ensure the best output of the farm while maintaining ecological awareness regarding insect management, soil conservation, protection of natural water resources, waste management and over-all ecosystem conservation.

Each year coffee cherries are manually harvested by the Nôbe-Buglé indigenous people who have been carefully trained to harvest only when the coffee cherries are bright red and fully ripe. The cherries are carefully selected and handpicked, leaving behind the unripe beans to be harvested at a later time. Carmen takes care at every stage of harvesting and processing to maintain optimum results.

Recommendation:

Resting time - 3-4 weeks
Pourover: 1:16-1:17 - 90-92c, 2:30-3 min 
Espresso: 1:2.5 - 93c, 32s