We all know, too well, that coffee is getting more expensive. Some of us are changing our coffee habits. But a recent auction in Panama defined the financial limits to which some Java lovers will go. One lot of coffee sold for five figures!
Inspecting ripening coffee berries on the Lamatus Family Estate…
The annual Best of Panamá Auction, celebrates the nation’s top coffee producers. This year the Elida Geisha Natural Torre coffee from Lamastus Family Estate sold for (US)$10,013 per kilogram.
The ultimate compliment
“Thank you to all bidders, and a special thanks to the lot winners, Saza Coffee from Japan,” the estate said on Instagram. “We are humbled and honored to receive such recognition.”
“After 100 years of hard work and four generations dedicated to this product, achieving such great-ness with a company 13,000 km away in Japan feels unbelievable. We are beyond grateful and hon-ored. On behalf of the Lamastus family and Panama, we cannot express our thanks enough.”
Wow. What do you do for an encore?
Dramatic market dynamics
I’ve always thought of countries such as Brazil, Colombia and Costa Rica as the ‘importanr’ coffee producers of the Americas. Apparently, Panama, for it’s size, is also noteworthy grower. But because it’s such a relatively small nation, its production volume has always been limited, compared to its larger competitors.
According to the International Coffee Organization, Brazil is expected to produce 59.1 million ‘stand-ard’ 60 kilogram bags of coffee in 2023-2024. Panama, by comparison, is forecast to ship just 50,00 bags over the same period.
Coffee is their life
“I think this was easily the most competitive year ever,” Panamanian coffee expert Manuel Barsallo says. “In Panama, we’re not going for quantity. We’re going for quality.”
One of the distinguishing characteristics of ‘fine’ Panamanian coffee is the variety of bean they grow. The most serious growers specialize in the Geisha variety.
“[Geisha is] known both for being harder to grow, due to the plant producing fewer cherries, and for its rather specific climate needs. It’s also well known for its unique and intense floral flavors with notes of lemongrass and stone fruits that you don’t find in mass-produced coffee beans,” Food &Wine explains.
“Sipping it is almost more akin to sipping a cup of really strong tea, which [may be] why it’s become a favorite in Asian markets like Japan, China, and South Korea, where it’s especially popular with afflu-ent millennials.”
My take
I’ve done some digging. And I’ve discovered not all Panamanian coffee is as pricey as the stuff from the Lamastus Estate. Prices on Amazon and eBay range from about $60 to around $80 per 8 oz. /227 g package. That’s just over $350 per kg. Alas, far above my budgetary ceiling. And out of reach for the great masses of average coffee drinkers.
But I’m glad, for Panama’s coffee entrepreneurs, that there’s a robust Asian market for their boutique wares.
And from now on, I’ll think of Panama’s Geisha in the same elevated sense as Blue Mountain, Kona, Kopi Luwak, and other legendary specialty brews…
~ Maggie J.