The long-awaited competition for the best Panamanian coffees has ended after an 18-hour contested battle for the best geisha in the world. As we all know, the Panamanian geisha is famous for its unique aroma and taste. You yourself have had the opportunity to try Panamanian geishas, winners of Best Of Panama countless times.
Unfortunately, we were unable to get our hands on the delicious geishas from Panama this year. The battle was contested and the best coffees were split between China and Saudi Arabia. In recent years, we have seen an unprecedented interest in specialty coffee from these two cultures, primarily associated with tea drinking. The time is coming when perhaps the best specialty coffees will travel to the Middle and Far East.
Panama’s best coffee for 2023 comes from the Carmen Estate farm. The batch of 25 kg. sold for $250,125 or $10,005 per kg. To date, it is the most expensive green coffee sold in the world. A record that has not yet been set.
Carmen’s Geisha has a floral flavor, and notes of jasmine, sweet orange, and lemongrass, rated at an enviable 96.5 points. As you know, coffees rated above 90 points on the Cup Of Excellence scale are rare, and those above 95 points can be considered aliens.
But let’s go back in time. Some of you have already had Carmen Estate’s wonderful cassava back in 2014 when we purchased 10 bags of a wonderful red berry, strawberry, and raspberry-flavored coffee. Very fruity and very sweet coffee.
Carmen Plantation is located in the Paso Ancho Valley. The altitude of 1,750 to 2,000 meters is extremely favorable for the production of high-quality coffees of various varieties. In 1960, Efren and Carmen Franceschi started growing Arabica coffee on their farm. Now, Carmen Estate Coffee Inc., a company owned by Aguilera-Franceschi, continues the family tradition by growing Arabica on their ancestral lands.
Carmen Plantation’s high-quality coffee is a reflection of the family’s pride and dedication to maintaining its good name, reinforced in 2003 with the receipt of a certificate from the Rainforest Alliance, which ranks it among sustainable farms.
It’s no coincidence that Carmen Estate’s coffee is the top performer this year in Panama. Getting here is the result of a lot of effort and a lot of time invested in making great coffee. This is not the first time the family has participated in Best of Panama. For 20 years they have been part of the competition with many awards:
Third place in 2003, 2005, and 2006 in the “Best of Panama” competition organized by the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama.
First place with the highest score (90.75 points) in the “Cupping for Quality 2005” competition, organized by the Rainforest Alliance, within the framework of the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) annual event in the USA
Second place with a score of 88.00 points in the “Cupping for Quality” competition organized by the Rainforest Alliance in 2006 during the SCAA event in the USA.
Third place at Best of Panama 2010, when the coffee sold for a record high price of $16.00 per pound.
Every year since then, Franceschi has topped Best Of Panama lists, until this year, when he not only received a standing ovation at #1 but also won a record price for his production.
In 2020 and 2021, we at DABOV Specialty Coffee also managed to buy some of the best geishas for you, namely our Ironman of Auromar Farm. Two years in a row, we’ve been able to get our hands on their coffee so you have the chance to try some of the best geisha produced in Panama.
However, at the moment we can surprise you with a wonderful Geisha from Honduras – from the family of Marisabel Caballero and Moises Herrera, who became winners of the Cup Of Excellence in 2016 and have since been famous in the world of specialty coffee as one of the best producers in Honduras. This year we were able to purchase 3 Geishas from Marisabel and Moises.
Specialty Coffee Honduras Caballero
Specialty Coffee Honduras Finca El Puente
Specialty Coffee Honduras Geisha 1
Specialty Coffee Honduras Semi Anaerobic
