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The Full Story
OUR COFFEE
HISTORY
Panama has one of the best coffees in the world: its production consistently ranks as the most expensive coffee in global auctions and it is one of the most widely used origins in international coffee competitions. Only 15 years ago, however, Panama and Coffee were not interchangeable.
The tipping point for Panamanian coffee came in 2004, in the “Best of Panama” Coffee Auction, where Hacienda La Esmeralda scored insanely high points and secured a position in “super specialty” category with its newly “discovered” Geisha lot for a record breaking $21 a pound.
The demand and excitement for Panama Geisha brought about a coffee revolution in the Panamanian highlands, attracting roasters and buyers from all over the world, and pushing growers to begin experimenting not only with new Geisha lots, but with other high-quality varietals like Typica, Catuai, Caturra, Maragogype, Bourbon and Pacaramara.
WHAT MAKES PANAMA SUCH A GOOD PLACE FOR COFFEE?
1. Terroin
The Isthmus of Panama, a narrow and geographically privileged strip of land, is blessed with wind currents from both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and unique climate conditions. The lands that surround the dormant Volcán Barú, Panama’s highest point, their volcanic soil, high altitude, sunny mornings and cold nights, all come together to create the perfect conditions required for the growth, maturity and sweetness of the perfect coffee cherry.
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2. Variety
The arrival of the Geisha varietal to Panama was a game changer. The unique terroir of the Panama highlands allows floral, citric and fruity notes to develop in the Geisha varietal, and these notes are more pronounced and intense than in most places where the varietal is cultivated, including Geisha, Ethiopia, the plants hometown.
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3. Innovations
It’s important to highlight that it is not only terroir and varietals that make great coffee. Panama’s coffee success, the uniqueness and excitement that can be found in each cup, has been possible thanks in large part by the willingness of local producers to experiment and innovate with the latest techniques in aerobic and anaerobic fermentation, the use of yeasts, carbon maceration, and other drying methods.
THE GEISHA STORY
The first Geisha plants arrive in Panama in the early 60’s, thanks to what many would call a happy accident. Don Pachi Serracin travels to the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) in Costa Rica and comes upon a plant of rare and mysterious proportions called Geisha. Don Pachi decides to not pay attention to the plants bad reputation of having strange flavors and low yields, and, focusing on its disease resistant properties, decides to plant it in various farms around Boquete.
Don Pachi’s plants, and the geisha varietal in general, is almost forgotten until Daniel Peterson, of Hacienda Esmeralda, buys a coffee farm and decides to replant the existing plants in higher altitudes. The result is pure magic. An incredibly fruity and floral cup profile is discovered and in 2004 judges of the “Best of Panama” auction formally recognize the Peterson’s Geisha lot as one of the most exciting things happening in Panamanian Coffee, awarding it with high points and praise.
“Best of Panama” lots were usually sold at about $2 to $4 dollars a pound, but this Geisha sold at $21 dollars a pound, obtaining a world record. This achievement changes everything for Panamanian coffee and takes the country into another level of coffee production.
Today Panama is seen as a boutique place to buy coffee beans. A place of low production yields and incredible flavor complexities. Roasters and buyers around the world consider Panama Geisha as the champagne of coffee and constantly wrestle each other for these magic beans in order to include them in their coffee menus, or to use them in barista and brewer competitions.
Panama Geisha is generally known for floral notes, from Jasmin to roses or lavender, citric notes like bergamot, tangerine, grapefruit and fruity notes like peaches, apricot, berries and even wine-like hints when the geisha is dried using more complex techniques.
International prices for Panama Geisha have skyrocketed in recent years, and in 2019 a lot was sold for $1,029 dollars a pound, breaking price records worldwide and scoring the highest points ever awarded in competition.