Mystic Melon

I’ve known Yessie Hartmann since she was a moody teenager. She has always looked up to her dad, Ratibor, with the utmost respect and admiration. She grew up on the farm and has been around parents that live and breathe coffee. It’s not surprising that she decided to study agronomy in college. Although she’s had a life of farming, roasting and cupping education, the formal studying of coffee growing really solidified her passion for being a coffee farmer.

So in 2018, two years after she completed her degree, Yessie was hired by Bonita Springs to run the farm. The farm is situated in Boquete, a beautiful mountain town on the eastern slopes of the Baru volcano. It’s a large property with 36 hectares of coffee, mostly growing Catuaí and Caturra. As part of a varietal diversification effort, Yessie has planted Pacamara, SL28, Wush Wush and Maragogype.

Yessie has tackled the management of this farm in many stages. At the agriculture level, she has worked hard to monitor the health of the existing plants and assist them as needed, but more importantly, create a systematic program to prevent issues and give the plants the love and support they need to thrive. The farm is actually fairly low in elevation, so the varieties and processing are key to achieve high quality for these coffees.

On the processing front, I have noticed major changes. The introduction of drying beds for naturals and the retraining of the team to properly manage the drying beds to extend the drying times and prevent uneven drying. The results are starting to pay dividends as this past year, I was thoroughly impressed with the quality and vibrancy of the naturals.