Ong Chin Huat gets to taste the most expensive coffee in the world and is impressed by its robustness and aroma.
Sipping the cup of Esmeralda Geisha Canas Natural is like an explosion of flavours in your mouth. With top notes of lychee and jasmine, the rich aroma of Esmeralda Geisha or 601 as it is commonly called in reference to its price (It sold at an auction for US$601 per lb) certainly perks you up.
Cultivated in Panama on the fertile soils of the Volcan Baru, 601 has exclusivity written all over it. A mere 1,385 lbs of red ripe coffee cherries are harvested from the Canas Verdes Farm at Hacienda La Esmeralda around February 2017 and later air-dried on a patio for about a week until they have absorbed the humidity in the atmosphere. After processing only 150 lbs of green coffee remain, just enough for the coffee competition held in Panama.
And just like wine, a coffee tasting session with coffee experts and connoisseurs, called ‘cupping’ instead of ‘tasting’ is held to determine which lot of the 601 coffee will compete in the Best of Panama Competition. 601 won the first place in the Exotic Naturals Category of the Best of Panama Competition in May 2017, earning an impressive 94.115 out of 100 points and later it was offered for sale in the Best of Panama Auction in July 2017.
After frenzied bidding and among fierce completion, the winning bids for the world’s most expensive coffee came from Hong Kong specialty coffee buyers Kew Specialty Coffee, Sydney Coffee Business and Japan Saza Coffee. Two boxes of Esmeralda Geisha Canas Verdes Natural, each weighing 50 pounds sold for US$60,100, which makes it an amazing average of US$601 per lb. The bid surpassed the previous world record price for auction coffees – US$350 per lb which was held by the same farm and coincides with Hacienda La Esmeralda’s 50th anniversary.
Hacienda La Esmeralda is renowned for setting world-breaking record prices for its exceptional coffee quality. Daniel Peterson of Hacienda La Esmeralda said: “We are honoured and humbled by this new world record price of US$601 per pound. This high price for coffee is an important breakthrough for the ultra-specialty coffee farmers worldwide and we are very privileged and delighted to be the first producers to receive it.”
Hacienda La Esmeralda was established in 1967 and was one of the proponents of the specialty coffee trend in Panama. Noted for their exceptional cultivation of high-quality coffee, Hacienda La Esmeralda is also known for the rediscovery of the Geisha variety. Owned and operated by the Peterson family, Hacienda La Esmeralda is revered as one of the world’s leading coffee producers.
For further information on Esmeralda Geisha Canas Verdes Natural Coffee or Hacienda La Esmeralda, please visit www.haciendaesmeralda.com