Panama coffee fetches record US$601 per pound

A new price record has been set for green coffee, with a 100-pound lot of natural process Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda fetching US$601 per pound at the latest Best of Panama coffee auction. The record-breaking lot, which was grown on the producer organisation’s Cañas Verdes Farm, scored 94.11 in cupping. The winning bidder was Korean company, Kew Specialty Coffee Co. Overall 5,950 pounds of coffee were sold at the auction in 51 separate lots, fetching a total of $368,711 for the producers. According to the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama, 37 of the winning lots went to buyers in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea. Australian buyers bought seven of the lots, with the remaining lots going to buyers in the United States (1), Holland (1), France (1), the UK (2) and Saudi Arabia (2). Geisha was the most prominent variety at the auction, with Caturras, Catuais and Pacamaras also represented.