About This Coffee
Ricardo and Teresita Fernandez are pathbreakers in Panama’s coffee production. They purchased Dona Tere Estate in 1991 and named the farm after Teresita. In 1997, they built Panama’s first ecological coffee processing mill. In 1998, they exported their coffee to Switzerland for the first time. Since then, they’ve been instrumental in spreading interest in Panama’s high-quality specialty coffees.
This Geisha lot is emblematic of the high-quality Ricardo and Teresita work towards. This coffee is fruity and sweet with black tea, tropical fruit and stone fruit.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Cherry is selectively hand harvested and laid to sun dry on patios. As cherry dries, workers rake parchment frequently to ensure even drying and remove any damaged beans by hand.
It is evident that the producers place the utmost care into processing this coffee. This coffee in this lot was processing using traditional Natural processing techniques. They call the processing method ‘winey’ process in order to differentiate this smaller-scale processing from the larger-scale Natural processing that is common throughout Brazil.
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.