Bambito Estate

Origin: Volcán, Panama
Elevation: 1660 – 1800 m.a.s.l.
Varietals
Processes: Washed, Natural, and Cold Fermenation Anaerobic

A Homestead, A Matriarch, A Son

The land has been in the Sittón family since the early 9 s,
when they settled in the Bambito mountains. Priscilla's
grandfather Alberto stewarded the homestead to honour his own
father, and the estate still feels like a family home: a Swiss-
influenced wooden house built in a style made for snow that
never falls here, and inside it heirlooms like an old hand-built
pulper and a wooden coffee cooler.
They began exporting around , at first through brokers
selling to large buyers, before the family knew anything about
specialty coffee. The turn came when Ivan finished college and
he and his mother Priscilla decided to learn the business
properly. Their way in was to compete at Best of Panama; they
placed, met the whole community, and built Bambito into a
respected specialty name.
Priscilla is the heart of Bambito, a devoted gardener who, as Ivan
tells it, sings to the flowers. Ivan, the fourth generation, was born
in Singapore while his father served there, and frames the whole
business simply: the power of coffee connects people.

Their Approach

Pickers sort by ripeness and colour, working past green, yellow, red, very red and purple, and avoiding pintones, red at the tip and still green at the back. There is a weekly picker award. Because Geisha is only to percent of production, Geisha pickers are paid about two dollars more per lata so they chase perfect ripeness rather than volume.

Picking is the first quality filter

Pickers sort by ripeness and colour, working past green, yellow, red, very red and purple, and avoiding pintones, red at the tip and still green at the back. There is a weekly picker award. Because Geisha is only to percent of production, Geisha pickers are paid about two dollars more per lata so they chase perfect ripeness rather than volume.

Processed and tracked by batch

Each day's harvest and process is one bachada, all registered. A single lot number can span several bachadas, so they often blend the season's washed Geisha together; this year they blended it all, for a steady, dependable Bambito profile rather than many tiny micro-splits.

Resting is a principle

Ivan's ideal washed Geisha is simple and elegant,
all jasmine and lemongrass, but with real mouthfeel
and body, never thin and watery. That balance of delicacy and body is what the estate chases.

Delicate, but never thin

Ivan's ideal washed Geisha is simple and elegant,
all jasmine and lemongrass, but with real mouthfeel
and body, never thin and watery. That balance of delicacy and body is what the estate chases.