NOTES: TROPICAL STONE FRUITS, BLACKCURRANTS, BLACKBERRIES, COMPLEX WINEY NOTES, JAMMY FULL BODIED, LEMON AND HONEY CITRUS

After harvest, cherry is pulped. Coffee and mucilage is moved to raised drying beds. Cherry is laid on African raised beds. Throughout the process, cherry is visually inspected to remove damaged or over- and under-ripes and then laid in thin layers on raised beds. Raised beds allow for better airflow throughout drying that help prevent over-ripening, fermenting or spoiling.

It is evident that the producers place the utmost care into processing this coffee. This coffee in this lot was processing using traditional Natural processing techniques. They call the processing method ‘winey’ process in order to differentiate this smaller-scale processing from the larger-scale Natural processing that is common throughout Brazil.

Though small in coffee production, Panama is a mighty player in coffee quality. In particular, Panama is famous for producing Geisha variety lots that have fetched prices exceeding $800 per pound. Today, its renown as a producer of rare and sought-after varieties positions Panama as a contender for a new kind of ‘coffee-tourism’ that has the potential to change the way we produce, purchase, consume and talk about specialty coffee on a global scale.

The high value of Geisha has brought out both the best and worst in the industry. For established producers who receive excellent prices for their Geisha and other lots, the high prices they receive have often been reinvested in their communities and in renovating their farms to be as environmentally sustainable as possible. Unfortunately, the lure of Geisha’s high value has led some people bypass traditional land purchasing agreements and illegally deforest areas of national parks to get the best location for new (and illicit) Geisha farms.

Even as the number of producers those receiving high prices for their Geisha remains relatively low, the blossoming coffee industry in Panama has demonstrated potential to raise incomes for a wider spectrum of producers and coffee workers.