Panama (Central America)

I wanted to shift to a lesser know place for coffee, yet maybe one of the best, Panama. To begin Gesha or Geisha coffee comes from this region. It is considered one of the best in the world sometimes going for as much as $600 a lb. I hope to have some of this next month, but in the mean time I’d like to share more on this region.

To begin, some of the best coffee in this country came from planting Ethiopian coffee shrubs/trees in Panama. The climate brought about a perfect setting which produced an extraordinary crop that is a rare and sought after commodity.

What a lot of people don’t know as well is Panamanian coffee is less known in the U.S.A. due to Panama’s lack of need to sell their crop. As I was researching where I wanted to go for my honeymoon, Panama and Costa Rica were high on my list since they were coffee regions with beaches, a nice compromise for my wife. As I connected with different places, I was quickly learning the Costa Ricans out of necessity were interested in selling their coffee and helping you get it back to your country. Panama on the other hand thanks to the Panama Canal had less financial incentive to sell their coffee.

You see the canal supports their economy to where they just sell the bulk of their coffee to Asia where they buy most of it in one load. They aren’t too interested in entertaining small buyers. I was fascinated to learn this. I was even more fascinated when I found a vendor who sells Panama Bonqueta in the U.S.A. This coffee is a flavorful fruitful coffee best served between a light and medium roast. The first time I roasted it I was excited to have this rare region, and now with a decent quantity I can offer it as a craft coffee for a reasonable price. Unlike other regions where you are really supporting a small farmer, Panamanian coffee is more of a luxury coffee to enjoy from time to time. Your dollars will have little impact on someones life here, unlike Timor (and similar countries). Timor as I mentioned is a country where coffee is 1 of a small handful of products that support their entire economy. By all means try a bag of this sometime, it’ll make for a great weekend on a breezy day.