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Experts select best coffees of Panama

Coffee experts gathered in Volcán to select the best coffee of Panama, which is among the world’s finest.

LA PRENSA

Best practice: On the best coffee producing estates, ripe coffee berries, or cherries, are selectively picked by hand. Unripe berries are left to mature for later harvesting.1013975

The 2008 "Best of Panama" specialty coffee cupping got underway yesterday in Volcán in the province of Chiriquí. The competition to select the best coffee in Panama ends today.

Panama, known mainly as a canal, former U.S. military base, tax paradise and more recently, tropical vacation destination and retirement haven, is also a producer of perhaps the finest coffee in the world. It can at least be said that it produces one of the most costly coffees on the planet---geisha---which has fetched well over $100 per pound at international auction.

Geisha is a fussy varietal that grows in the varied terrain in and around Boquete, with its distinct microclimates, volcanic soils, and other conditions that favor the small evergreen bush.

But coffee experts don't travel to Panama from the seven continents just to sample the latest crop of geisha. They come to sample a great variety of coffees proudly produced by local growers scattered among its green mountains.

Tasting experts selected thirty-two different coffees to be judged in this year's competition from the 50 that arrived for consideration from the regions of Volcán, Piedra Candela and Boquete.

The quality and distinctive character of coffee is determined by the climate where it's grown, altitude, the surrounding flora and fauna, pollinization, and many other factors known and unknown. Carlos Aguilera Franceschi, president of the Specialty Coffee Association of Panamá (Scap) explained that higher altitude coffee has strong, acidic flavors, while coffee grown in the lowlands has a sweeter flavor and different aroma."

Panama has many microclimates with their own special ecology, which gives coffee grown here a unique flavor signature and growers a reason to protect the environment. Many farmers use no chemical fertilizers on their crops.

Many different varieties are being judged in Volcán this year, including typica, geisha, caturra, bourbon and pacamara. "That gets the attention of the judges and buyers," Aguilera noted.

Geisha coffee from Hacienda La Esmeralda in Boquete was judged the best of 2007 and sold at auction for $130 a pound. The best of 2008 has yet to be selected and will go to auction in May.