Panamanian specialty coffee smashes world price record

Geishas are famous for being shy and retiring, but in Panama they are breaking world records and even putting Brazilian beauties in the shade.

A Panamanian specialty coffee, a rare variety of the geisha plant strain, sold for a record-breaking $50.25 (U.S.) a pound in an on-line auction hosted by the Specialty Coffee Association of America late Tuesday.

At over 50 times the price of standard beans, the geisha beat the previous on-line record price of $49.75 a pound, held by a Brazilian bean.

Specialty coffee auctions gained popularity after a global slump, when prices paid on the benchmark New York “C” contract didn’t cover production costs and many farmers focused on higher-quality beans for gourmet consumers that could sell at a premium price.

Daniel Price Peterson, head of Panama’s Specialty Coffee Association, produced the winning lot. His geisha ripened in the shade of old guava trees at 1,600 metres above sea level at a farm in the western highlands of Panama. Mr. Price Peterson told Reuters he was in shock at the price his beans had fetched. “I’m absolutely walking on air today,” he said yesterday.

Last year beans from the same farm sold for $20.10 a pound; in 2004 they sold at $21 a pound — a record at that time.

Mr. Price Peterson’s geisha scored 94.6 points out of a possible 100 at a taste test in April, with judges competing for superlatives and florid descriptions of its flavour.

One judge joked that even though he was an atheist he saw God when he tried the geisha, which he said had hints of bergamot oil, ginger, blackberry and ripe mango. Reuters