A Central American variety gives Black Ivory and Kopi Luwak a run for their money.
If you do a hunting for the world ’s most expensive coffee berry , you might findBlack Ivory coffee , which has been partially digested by elephant in Thailand . Or , maybe you ’ll come across the world - renowned Kopi Luwak chocolate , whose subject area - to - cup procedure also implicate a trip through an brute ’s digestive parcel , this time the Indonesian decoration civet cat , a true cat - like first cousin of the mongoose found throughout south and southeast Asia .
However , one overlooked , also rarified coffee is Geisha , a scarce and inadvertently extremist - expensive variety harvest in the Highlands of Scotland ofPanama . The variety has a history of being ignored , partly due to how intriguing it is to cultivate .
From Ethiopia to Panama
While the smorgasbord ’s name may make some people think of Japan , the Panamanian Geisha coffee bean originated in the Gori Gesha region ofEthiopia . seedling were collected circa 1932 and made the rounds to other African coffee bean - raise regions before it was mobilize in the spherical deep brown trade . finally , in the sixties , it made its way to Central America .
“ Geisha coffee berry get down to Panama as a mode to combat the coffee tree rust epidemic in the ’ 70 , ” says Manuel Barsallo , co - founder of the Panama City – basedCruce Coffee Companyand member of thePanama Coffee Club .
Initially , Geisha was not very well - received by local farmers .
Design by Maitane Romagosa, photos courtesy of Ron Abuelo
“ Almost nobody wanted to grow Geisha because those burnt umber Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree are not very rich , ” says Carlos Antonio Jurado , a guide at the 124 - yr - oldDon Pepe Coffee Estatein Boquete , Panama .
By the 1970s , only a few Panamanian coffee tree farmers had the solitaire to grow Geisha coffee in the agricultural highlands of the western Chiriquí province , near the Costa Rican border . The low - yield plant require high elevation to grow than othercoffeevarieties . When it does originate , it farm about half the amount of cherries per clustering compared to most other Arabica industrial plant , and has only about half the amount of bunch per branch .
As if that were n’t rationality enough for a farmer to turn by from Geisha , the motley pick out two to three time farsighted than the average coffee flora to behave any yield . “ They acquire less bean , and it takes up to 10 years to get the first good harvest , ” state Jurado .
Design by Maitane Romagosa, photos courtesy of Ron Abuelo
However , with idealistic conditions in the western Panamanian highlands — elevation , tropical climate , rich volcanic soil , cool nights , and an extended rainy season — Geisha began to brandish . For the next several decade , it was harvest primarily by family - run coffee farm , admit theJansons , the Lamastus family , and the Vasquez family unit of the Don Pepe Coffee Estate .
How Panama’s Geisha coffee price spiked
By the early 21st one C , Geisha had find its basis in Panama . In 2004 , Daniel Peterson , manager ofHacienda La Esmeralda , thought it was unnerving enough for outside cupping competitions , and so he entered his family ’s Geisha in a few — and at long last come back witha atomic number 79 ribbon from the Best of Panama contest .
It was a crucial here and now for the variety at rest home and afield , Barsallo order . “ Since then , baristas started using it for the world championships . ”
With Geisha ’s newfound celebrity , the specialtycoffeewas sought out by the most apprehensive coffee drinker and brewers worldwide . This demand , coupled with its complicated growing mental process and low issue , has made it arguably the most expensive coffee in the man . A cup of Panamanian Geisha coffee can cost the combining weight of $ 125 in Japan and $ 200 in Dubai . Now , several country — including Ethiopia , where the bonce originated — have begin import Panamanian Geisha chocolate . Each year , buyers bid higher and higher for Geisha beans at outside coffee auction . In September 2022 , the Lamastus family plant a new Panamanian Geisha Coffee globe platter by selling a pound of their Elida Geisha Aguacatillo , love - processed coffee for a whopping $ 6,034 to a Taiwanese burnt umber company .
Coffee berries at Geisha Estates|Design by Maitane Romagosa, photos courtesy of Ron Abuelo
“ Our family felt extremely happy when we were able to subdue that milestone in terms of a Leontyne Price pay for coffee , ” says Willford Lamastus , Jr. “ But it ’s not really based on the money made on that transaction , it is more about what it mean . ”
For Lamastus , these award and expensive price rag establish a commute consumer mentality toward coffee in universal . “ In today ’s world , hoi polloi are willing to give more for wines and other products that are mainly produced in developing nations , [ but ] when it comes to java , the consumer grocery store consistently is blab out about , ‘ Why should it be expensive ? Why is it expensive ? It should not be expensive , java should be meretricious . ’
“ But now with these milestones , we can help the entire umber industry . manufacturer can start sending the message that our Cartesian product can be perceived differently . It can be perceived as wine is perceive , as high luxury intersection are perceived , ” Lamastus says .
What does Panamanian Geisha coffee actually taste like?
The aficionados who assist those baller auction are next - degree coffee enthusiasts who evaluate coffee likesommeliers , with meticulous attention to aroma , texture , and primary and secondary sapidity , before and after some slurp - induce aeration . While there are nuances , many report that the main characteristics of Geisha coffee are extremely floral aromas and flavors — reckon jasmine and lavender — plus a Charles Edward Berry sweetness , a small sourness , and a hint of lemongrass . Some compare its lighter , finespun mouthful to tea , although that too is immanent .
“ The grandness of savour coffee lies in find out out what you really like , ” says Barsallo . “ More often than not , we find ourselves in java shops complain about how bad the coffee berry is , but after try out it we understand what we really like . ”
Barsallo ’s Cruce Coffee Company work with Panamanian kinfolk umber farms to offer different burnt umber variety show , including Geisha , at its café and taste elbow room in Panama City , and packages and distributes it in recyclable aluminumK - cups .
“ The demand for Geisha coffee varies from country to country , ” he pronounce . “ The highest demand fare from China , Japan , Taiwan , UAE , Australia , Korea — and [ there ’s ] a growing need in the US marketplace . ”
Panamanian Geisha coffee may remain the most expensive deep brown in the world , or it may be supersede by another , rarified assortment with an unlikely origin write up . But Panama ’s agriculturalist and brewers are lofty to have turned Geisha into a ball-shaped success — and to have hopefully changed some perceptions of their country and its coffee in the cognitive process .
