The secret of "the most expensive coffee in the world" at $ 75 a cup

This week, at the auction of Panama's award-winning coffees, all the eyes of those interested have been put to the test.
Prices would arrive. And they were not disappointed

According to Ellen Lee, a BBC Capital journalist, last year's auction set a record: $ 803 per pound (454 grams) for the most valuable grain: a strain called Elida Geisha, harvested from a family plantation nestled in the middle of a volcanic forest reserve in the west of the country. This year, the record was broken again and with much: 1029 USD per pound.

In 2018, only 454 kilos of this coffee were sold and acquired by a group of buyers from China, Japan and Taiwan, as well as by a US representative, Klatch Coffee, headquartered in Los Angeles.

This company acquired about 4.54 kilograms in total and turned them into its latest promotion, which it offers in the United States.
"the most expensive coffee in the world" at a cost of US $ 75 per cup. (Klatch has also acquired part of the lot this year).

Darrin Daniel, executive director of the Alliance for Coffee Excellence, an NGO based in Portland, Oregon, told Ellen Lee that high-quality coffee deserved the same treatment as the best wines or brandies. Well, in the end, it takes a lot of effort to produce this cup.

The price of ordinary coffee is US $ 1.10 per pound (0.45 kg) on ​​world markets, while production is surplus.

Large-scale production in countries such as Brazil – which produces 29% of imported coffee in the European Union – makes the competitiveness of small family farms difficult and virtually impossible.

It's precisely at a similar price decline in the late 1990s that competition and bids have soared for a quality coffee, notes Ellen Page.

Daniel explains that the goal was to recognize small farmers and create a platform for them to connect with grain buyers in the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia.

There are currently dozens and dozens of coffee competitions and auctions. The Cup of Excellence, organized by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence, is known as the "Olympic Coffee Games" and brings together farmers from 11 countries.

The Best of Panama, the competition in which Elida Geisha was crowned for the second year in a row, also attracts an international audience. Cafes that score high in competitions are priced well in excess of $ 1 per pound, not necessarily $ 803 but $ 100 or $ 300 per pound.

"This is how farmers and consumers are rewarded," said Ric Reinhardt, executive director emeritus of the United States Specialty Coffee Association (SCAA). "Farmers earn a higher income for their work and consumers benefit from a better product," said Page.

From Ethiopia to Panama

Elida Geisha comes from a small farm in Boquete, Panama, which has been farmed for four generations by members of the Lamastus family. Elida was the name of the matriarch who ran the plantation and who raised her children alone after losing her husband early.

Although the family has been growing coffee for more than 100 years, Elida Geisha is a new company, recalls journalist Ellen Lee.

For a long time, the farm ran into trouble and lost money, says Wilford Lamastus Jr., a fourth-generation coffee producer. On this land, they have also grown onions, berries and melons to earn enough money to survive.

"Everyone who has a good head would have said," We are losing money, we have to give up, "Lee said.

But the family has doubled its commitment to coffee. His father participated in the creation of the SCAP (Association of Coffee Specialties of Panama), joined other farmers in the region and organized the Best of Panama contest.

In 2004, the group reached a key moment: the farm of another family, Hacienda La Esmeralda, had developed a variety of rare coffee called Geisha, which stood out from the competition that year and reached 21 US $ the pound. , a record for time.

Soon, other farmers, including the Lamastus family, also sought to grow this type of grain.

Also known as Gesha, this variety was born in the 1930s in the Gesha region of Ethiopia.

In the 1960s, seeds arrived at a research center in Costa Rica and Panama. Farmers discovered that this variety was strong and that it could survive some diseases, but produced few tasteless coffee beans, said reporter Ellen Lee.

For years, he was ignored. Then, the Peterson family from Hacienda La Esmeralda discovered this type of grain by chance during a study on their farm. They found that when planted at higher altitudes, it had a unique and marked flavor.

"You could spend your life from time to time finding one or two notes (floral or fruity) in a very good coffee," says Reinhard. But in the Geisha variety "you find a whole symphony with these notes".

The Lasmatus family bought and planted the first seeds in 2006. It took them eight years – much more than for other varieties of coffee – until they could be harvested and the plants are difficult to cultivate.

Lamastus estimates that 20% of them died during the transfer of the nursery, while others perished because they were too exposed to the natural elements of these heights.

But Lamastus says they're also fortunate to own high-quality land, rich volcanic soils, a unique microclimate at high altitude and a central location between the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean.

Grain collection and processing requires careful work so that coffee flavors can be expanded. According to the journalist, about 20% of the 65 hectares of the farm are for the Gesiha variety, which they wish to develop.

In 2018, Elida Geisha of the Lamastus family won the prize in her category. That year, they won twice, for both Elida Gesiha Natural and Elida Geisha Washed. At the online auction of these coffees (about 45 kilos), held this week, she finally reached 1,029 USD per pound.

Michael Perry, buyer and expert at Klatch, was one of the judges of the Best of Panama contest last year, during which an international jury blindly audited the coffees and evaluated them on a scale from 1 to 100. Perry Elide Geisha Natural a score of 97.

"It's the best cup of my life," Perry told reporter Ellen Lee. The expert then partnered with other buyers such as Black Gold, Taiwan, to make a joint bid for the cafes at the auction, where they managed to purchase these award-winning beans.

With the costs of shipping and brewing coffee, Perry estimates that the final cost was around $ 1,000 per pound, which yields about 80 cups of coffee.

Klatch decided to make it an experience: at private events, customers would not only pay for a cup of this rare and hard to get coffee, but they would also know the origins.

"Even people who pay for coffee do not know why it's so expensive," said Heather Perry, vice president of Klatch and president of the SCAA. "It helps to give them context," he told Ellen Lee.

Daniel Walsh, one of Klatch's customers who paid to try a cup of this award-winning coffee, describes himself as a fan of this drink, so much so that when he travels, he brings his grinder, beans and coffee maker to prepare your coffee every morning.

"Obviously, you will not pay $ 75 for a cup a day, but you buy bottles of good wine or good whiskey and you pay tons of money for watches or shoes that you only wear. I once ate coffee and wanted to be able to say "I tried it," he told BBC Capital's reporter.

Walsh tried it and savoring this black coffee with its unusual combination of fruit and flower aromas confirmed the accuracy of his decision. "We do not find that kind of thing in everyday coffee," he says.

IN ADDITION