Must-Have Experiences in Boquete: Coffee

A visit to Boquete is not complete without a visit to one of the area’s famed coffee estates (and of course, several cups of what may be the best coffee you’ve ever tasted in your life). Many of the estates have organized tours that take visitors through the entire coffee harvesting process – from seed to roasting – and finish with [drumroll] a complete coffee tasting! The variation in tastes is wild! The altitude, the nutrient combination in the soil, the rainfall and the variety of the plant – not to mention the selected preparation process – all impact taste.
 
The most famed coffee in Panama is the Geisha. This coffee is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. In 2017, one pound sold for US$601 in the XXI Best of Panamá online auction. What makes the coffee so special? Wilford Lamastus Jr. a fourth generation coffee producers highlights several of the “special” factors here: https://www.perfectdailygrind.com/2015/12/geisha-coffee-according-to-a-4th-generation-panama-producer/ I also really enjoyed reading about how the “Geisha boom” began almost accidentally on Hacienda La Esmeralda, see: http://haciendaesmeralda.com/thecollection/geisha/
 
I admit that I am a coffee fan (re: addict!), but the tours through the highland estates are fun and informative whether you start each day with a steaming cup or not!