Is Panama Coffee Expensive? 【The World's Most Expensive Coffee】Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha Coffee Beans

In July 2017, the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama held its "Best of Panama eAuction," where a coffee bean was successfully auctioned at a record-breaking price of US$601 per pound. Soon after, this Panama Geisha coffee bean became available in limited supply in Hong Kong!

This coffee bean, known as Panama Geisha, is said to challenge the king and queen status of Blue Mountain coffee and Hawaiian Kona coffee. Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda sold it for US$601 per pound (100 pounds totaling US$60,100), hailed as unprecedented and the most expensive in history. This coffee bean has won numerous awards and achieved a rating of 94.1 points.

It all traces back to Rudolph A. Peterson, a banker from California in the United States, who purchased Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama in 1964. The estate is located in the Palmira region and covers a hundred acres. His family later discovered the famous Geisha coffee trees nearby—a revolutionary variety in the coffee world—which has enabled Hacienda La Esmeralda to achieve outstanding results in the "Best of Panama" auction since 2006, making the Peterson family renowned in coffee auction history.

2018 Geisha Auction Results and Information

2018 Emerald Geisha Auction Results

This year's Geisha auction categories:

Yeast Process (ES-Y): A total of four lots, nine boxes of beans

Natural Process (ES-N): A total of nine natural process lots, thirty-five boxes of beans

Washed Process (ES-W): A total of two traditional washed process lots, six boxes of beans

The champion bid price was US$340 per pound, belonging to the yeast category Lot ES-Y-1

Natural category highest: US$109 per pound, ES-N-9-1

Washed category highest: US$105 per pound, ES-W-1-5

This year, the 2018 Panama Coffee Competition champion was also a Geisha produced by Hacienda La Esmeralda, with a bid price of US$340 per pound, won by HARU International Corp.

Lot ES-Y-1

Harvest Date: January 31, 2018

Processing Method: Fermented with yeast for 48 hours, then washed, followed by 4 days of drying on raised beds

Altitude: 1600 meters

Region: Cañas Verdes, Palmira

Estate: Cañas Verdes

Variety: Green Tip Geisha

Geisha varieties include Green Tip Geisha and Bronze Tip Geisha. Green Tip Geisha is characterized by floral aromatics, strong acidity, and sweetness. Bronze Tip Geisha, by contrast, emphasizes body and sweetness, with less prominent acidity.

The family's Hacienda La Esmeralda [World Famous Coffee Estates Tour | Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda] operates coffee farms in a corporate manner, acquiring nearby farms with different altitudes, terrains, and soil types (volcanic terrain). Using the most advanced and meticulous production and cultivation techniques with strict management, they produce extremely high-quality Geisha coffee across their affiliated farms. Geisha is also very well suited to Panama's natural conditions, so the Geisha produced by Hacienda La Esmeralda is auctioned globally as a single estate, attracting international coffee buyers, roasters, and enthusiasts to compete for each fresh harvest.

Panama Geisha Coffee Brand Recommendations

Geisha 2018—Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Red Label Natural | Blue Label Washed | Green Label Natural

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Panama Red Label Geisha delivers on both brand and quality. Sourcing directly from Hacienda La Esmeralda's distinctive lots, it is an accessible way to taste the elegance that made Panama Geisha famous: refined jasmine aromatics, bergamot and citrus, and a clean, lingering sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Panama Geisha and Jamaica Blue Mountain have long stood at the top of the coffee world, each commanding extraordinary prices for its rarity and balance. If that classic, legendary profile appeals to you, FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 is worth discovering. It comes from the historic Clifton estate, where coffee has been grown since around 1750, at an average elevation of 4,300 feet (1,310.64 meters), and is graded No.1—the highest tier.

Roasted medium-dark, FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain No.1 shows the balance that defines the style: no aggressive fruit acidity, no heavy bitterness, but a seamless harmony of acidity, sweetness, and aroma, with layered notes of cream, caramel, chocolate, nuts, and honey. It is equally at home as a daily luxury or as a gift for someone who values the classics.