If there were a World Cup, Met Gala, and Michelin Guide all wrapped into one, but for coffee… it’d be called The Best of Panama.

And it’s happening right now. The two week event kicked off yesterday

If you’ve been reading this newsletter since the early days, you’ve for sure heard us mention it before – this is the elite coffee competition where Geishas go for gold. Producers from across Panama submit their very best lots, most of which are tiny (a submission requires 42kg of green coffee), grown at insane elevations, and processed with fanatic precision. Then, a jury of national judges puts in the work this week to limit the coffee from around ~120 submissions this year, down to 72 coffees to send to the international judges next week.

The panel of ~20 international judges (Cole included) will then blindly evaluate 24 coffees from each of the three categories – Geisha Washed, Geisha Natural and Varietals – and they’ll send the Top 8 scores to a Final table that will be announced at a fancy and formal awards ceremony. These Top 8 in each category will be awarded trophies they can keep in their cupping labs and they’ll earn the top spots in the Best of Panama Auction this August.

We’re talking cupping marathons, flavour fireworks, and the kind of tension that makes baristas sweat more than service on a slammed Sunday. There’s some drama, there’s some amazing moments, and most importantly there’s a beautiful celebration of Panama coffees.

What’s at Stake?

Reputation. Legacy. And real money, big dollars.

Winners don’t just walk away with a trophy they get celebrated in the Best of Panama Auction, where a single kilogram of Geisha coffee has fetched over $10,000/kg. That’s not roasted. That’s raw.

For reference, a kilogram of green coffee breaks down to right around 50 cups of ~250mL volume. Therefore the cost of each cup to the buyer of these top coffees would be around $200 per cup, cost. To sell this, you’d need to make a margin and that formula will shift depending on the business and the market – you can expect somewhere around $300 to $1000/cup. Woah.

These results shift the direction of the global specialty coffee market. Winning farms get booked out for years. Runners-up build massive followings. This is where trends are born, relationships are solidified, and names get carved out in stone, or in coffee.

Think: Hacienda La Esmeralda, Mount Totumas, Sophia, Lamastus, Janson, Carmen — all household names (at least in our kind of household) a lot to do with what they’ve achieve here at the Best of Panama.

We’re Here. Literally.

This year, I (Cole) am here in Panama and will be putting on my judging shoes next week, as an International Judge. No I don’t really have judging shoes, that was a joke… I’ve been living here in Panama the last three months and have evaluated over 1600 coffees at this point – next week will be the peak week for me experiencing the true Best of what Panama has to offer.

Some coffees taste like a field of flowers, jasmine, jasmine, jasmine, others like biting into a fresh peach and some so sweet they’d remind you of cotton candy. Some will remind you of fresh roses and yuzu soda. The wildest ones? They don’t taste like coffee at all. Wild processing? Likely will be eliminated this week by the National Judges. It’s a strict competition seeking out the most pure expression of Varietal and Terroir.

If you’ve ever wanted to taste what “Best in the World” actually means, this is your window. We plan to participate not just as Judges and buyers in Panama, we’ll also look to secure some of the favourite lots in the Auction – if our budget allows for it.

A Competition Unlike Any Other

There’s no milk here. No espresso machines. No performance, just a little “Pana-drama” as they call it here.

The format is brutally honest: blind cupping and evaluation, national and international judges, group deliberation that’s publicly viewed on livestream. If your coffee doesn’t show up in the cup? Doesn’t matter how famous your farm is – you’re out. If the roast isn’t great – tough luck. If your Best isn’t the Best, you’ll still possibly land amongst the stars.

What that means: the best really rise.

And for the first time, we’re going to break it all down – the winning lots, the surprise dark horses, and what this all means for the future of Panama.

If you’re a roaster reading this, please know that we began operating a business based in Panama this year, Forward Coffee, working to make these exceptional coffees more accessible to the market. If you’re looking for top quality Panama Geisha and Varietals. As of today, I’ve cupped 1631 coffees this season in Panama, so I assure you, the coffees available on the Forward Offering List are of the top top selection I have found.

If you’ve ever been curious about what separates a good coffee from a record-breaking one – we’re about to find out.

Stay tuned. Stay caffeinated. The Best of Panama is one of the most exciting times of the year for coffee nerds like us!

---

If you click this ad below, it truely helps us build our platform here at Buy the Drip and further our ability to create content that you’ll love, weekly.

Why The Best of Panama Matters?

The Best of Panama is a place for producers to showcase new Varietals and get the opportunity to share with their peers and the industry.

Once upon a time a time, in 2004 a Geisha was submit to the Best of Panama and it created chatter amongst producers and buyers after being awarded the top prize. This coffee was discovered by Hacienda La Esmeralda and it went on to re-define the industry.

Fast forward 20 years and the Best of Panama is now primarily about Geisha, as this coffee variety has risen above the rest here in Panama. It’s become more understood and highly prestigious, however, the Varietal category is where we see new genetics, and new types of coffee, such as Chiroso rise into the conversation.

The Best of Panama is a stage for celebration and an arena for discovery. It builds the name and the brand for coffee producers here in Panama and annually sets the precedent for the top end of coffee pricing around the World.

There’s not many coffees in the World that have fetched over $1000/kg. More than 90% of these coffees would be from Panama. As the BOP continues to push the ceiling of pricing upward, we’re seeing other Auctions, both Private and via Cup of Excellence, starting to climb and achieve price action they’ve never seen before.

In my eyes, Panama is blazing a pathway forward, for coffee producers all over the World to walk on. They’re open to sharing knowledge, resources and best of all, sharing their coffee.

I wish there was a platform I could go to in order to place bets on the Best of Panama results. It would be a ton of fun to throw a few bucks around on different farms, parlay a three category bet of Washed, Natural and Varietals. Who knows, maybe there’s a future for side-action coffee betting in the BOP?