Panama Finca Auromar Geisha Natural

New crop Geisha Natural arrived in late October via airfreight in extremely limited quantity.  The Panama highlands that surround the Baru Volcano, Boquete and Volcan, produce the top coffees in the world today, and this area has become synonymous with and the homeland of Geisha variety coffee. Crop output was half its normal level but the quality is very high.  Rains during the flowering period of the coffee trees washed away many of the flowers that would have become coffee cherry, thus reducing output and slightly increasing price. This coffee has been a favorite here for several years and is one of the more powerfully fruity Geisha coffes that we see.  This is the Catalina lot from Finca Auromar, always one of the top Geishas, this in a bold Natural dry process.  We visited with Roberto Brenes at his cupping facility adjacent to the farm in May 2023 and cupped multiple tables of their coffee before purchasing this one.

In 2021 the washed version of this coffee won first place in its category in The Best of Panama competition. In December 2018 we received 93 points from Coffee Review and this coffee was also featured in their Holiday Coffee article. In 2017 this was the #8 Top Coffee of 2017 in Coffee Review and received a whopping 96 point. It is immediately apparent from first sip that this is a stunning coffee year after year.

This is a very fruity example of the Geisha varietal from a two time first place award winner and an prominent member of an already highly sophisticated coffee farming community of the Panama highlands.

Geisha, for those who may not be familiar, is a seed variety that is native to Ethiopia and probably a relative of the Longberry. Its shape is elongated and somewhat large. This seed was experimentally planted in Boquete Panama along with many other varieties as a test of what might grow well in this particular micro climate. The result was the birth of a superstar in the world of coffee. Originally planted and brought to celebrity by the Peterson family of Hacienda Esmeralda, this variety started to break price records and the reputation and market for this coffee continued to grow, with devotees throughout the world and especially in Asia and Australia.

• Crop season: 2022-23
• Name: Auromar Estate Geisha
• Producer: Roberto Brenes
• Growing Region: Jurutungo Candela, Volcan
• Varietal: Geisha 100%
• Elevation: 1600 meters (5250 feet)
• Processing: Natural
• Drying:  African beds
  

AUROMAR ESTATE PHOTO

Roberto Brenes is a really interesting person with interests well outside that of coffee farming. Farming coffee is what he plans to do through his retirement years and the land has been in his wife's family for generations. Roberto is also the head of the Panamanian stock exchange so he has a lot of knowledge of international finance; Panama because of its location and the canal in particular, is a tremendously growing country with interests from all over the globe. Panama City, the capital, is sometimes referred to as the Dubai of the Americas and a place where there is much international investment. It wasn't always that way. During the Noriega years when under dictator rule, Panamanians suffered and lived in fear. A younger Brenes was an outspoken critic of the Noriega regime and was twice exiled from the country, something of a badge of honor when looking back on it. Educated in Panama through secondary school Brenes went to Columbia University in New York where he earned an MBA, which led him to work in banking when he returned to his country. Later, while exiled and in South America he elevated his career to investment banking. Post Noriega and exile, when Panama was coming out from under dictatorship, Brenes was offered the role of Central Banker for the country. The zeal he brings to everything in his life is now being poured into his coffee farming and the results are obvious.

Brenes has been engaged in Ironman triathlon competitions, for which he clearly has a love. We are happy to count ourselves among Roberto's friends and acquaintances and look forward to our next meeting.