Panama Gesha — The World's Most Expensive Coffee

The Gesha variety (named for the Gesha district in western Ethiopia near the border with Sudan) was collected by the CIECC (later CATIE, Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza) in Costa Rica in 1953 during a botanical collection mission. The variety was distributed to several Central American research stations in the 1960s-70s but received little commercial attention due to its low yield. Don Price at Hacienda La Esmeralda planted Gesha in 2001 in Boquete, and his son Daniel separated it from other varieties for the 2004 Best of Panama competition — the resulting lot scored 95.25 points and revolutionised specialty coffee.

Panama Gesha (also spelled Geisha) is the world's most celebrated and expensive coffee varietal — a Coffea arabica variety of Ethiopian origin, discovered in the Gesha district of Ethiopia, introduced to Central America via the CATIE research station in Costa Rica in the 1950s, and accidentally discovered as a premium variety by the Peterson family at Hacienda La Esmeralda in Boquete, Panama in 2004. Gesha's distinguishing characteristics — extraordinary aromatic intensity (jasmine, bergamot, tropical fruit, mandarin, peach), delicate structure, tea-like clarity, and complex sweetness — were revealed by the Peterson family's separation of varietal lots. Hacienda La Esmeralda's auction lots have sold for $350-6,000+ per pound. Rival producers in Chiriquí and elsewhere in Panama, and increasingly in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, are producing world-class Gesha/Geisha coffees.

FOOD PAIRING: Panama Gesha's jasmine-bergamot-peach intensity bridges to Provenance 1000 recipes featuring the most delicate, aromatic preparations — Gesha filter coffee alongside yuzu posset, lavender shortbread, rose panna cotta, and bergamot madeleines creates extraordinary floral echo pairings. Cold Gesha (made hot, cooled to room temperature, no ice) served in a white wine glass alongside a chèvre bruschetta with honey and toasted walnuts demonstrates the coffee's extraordinary savory-pairing versatility. In haute cuisine contexts, a pour of Panama Gesha as a beverage course between dessert courses creates a mise-en-scène that few other beverages can match.