About This Coffee
The Hartmann family patriarch, Alois St. Hartmann, was born in Czechoslovakia in 1891. In 1914, at the onset of First World War, Hartmann emigrated to Pennsylvania in the United States where he changed his name to Luis Hartmann. Hartmann later purchased land in Chiriqui in Panama and built a house. On that land, Hartmann began growing the first coffee trees on the Hartmann Estate.
Direct descendants of Luis Hartmann own and manage the estate today. Third generation Ratibor Hartmann manages the business and each of his four siblings oversees a specific aspect of the farm. There is a warm family vibe at this estate and issues are resolved smoothly in a way that you can tell that this family has lived together all their lives.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
After harvest, cherry is visually inspected to remove damaged or over- and under-ripes and then laid on raised beds to sundry. Raised beds allow for better airflow throughout drying that help prevent over-ripening, fermenting or spoiling. Cherry is raked frequently to ensure even drying.
About Geisha
Geisha (also known as Gesha) is known for its exceptional cup quality, especially when grown at high altitudes. The variety comes from Ethiopian landrace coffees and was collected from Ethiopian coffee forests in the 1930s. The name supposedly derives from Ethiopia’s Gori Gesha forest.
There is some confusion with several genetically distinct varieties that have all been called Geisha, but the most famous variety is the Panama one. The variety was brought to Lyamungu research station in Tanzania and from there to Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) in Central America in 1953. At CATIE, the variety was logged as T2722. CATIE distributed T2722 across Panama in the 1960s for its Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) resistance, but its brittle branches meant it was not widely planted.
Panama Geisha reached its modern fame in 2005 when a Geisha lot won the “Best of Panama” competition and broke contemporary records at over $20/pound. DNA analysis has demonstrated that the Panama Geisha descended from T2722 is distinct and uniform. Today, Geisha is known for its delicate florals, jasmine and stone fruit.
Coffee in Panama
Though small in coffee production, Panama is a mighty player in coffee quality. In particular, Panama is famous for producing Geisha variety lots that have fetched prices exceeding $800 per pound. Today, its renown as a producer of rare and sought-after varieties positions Panama as a contender for a new kind of ‘coffee-tourism’ that has the potential to change the way we produce, purchase, consume and talk about specialty coffee on a global scale.
The high value of Geisha has brought out both the best and worst in the industry. For established producers who receive excellent prices for their Geisha and other lots, the high prices they receive have often been reinvested in their communities and in renovating their farms to be as environmentally sustainable as possible. Unfortunately, the lure of Geisha’s high value has led some people bypass traditional land purchasing agreements and illegally deforest areas of national parks to get the best location for new (and illicit) Geisha farms.
Even as the number of producers those receiving high prices for their Geisha remains relatively low, the blossoming coffee industry in Panama has demonstrated potential to raise incomes for a wider spectrum of producers and coffee workers.