Finca Los Cenizos: How we discovered their award-winning geisha in Panama

In Jan 2020 during a WE THE ORIGIN trip to Panama, Abbas and Damian stumbled upon something special.

It was love at first sight. 

From the first moment we laid our eyes on it, we knew it was different.

Initially we noticed the green beans had a fragrant, lively aroma. Like a slap of greatness across the face.

And these unique beans were picture-perfect, with zero visible defects. They sparkled like diamonds, but were more rare 💎

We came to learn that this coffee was a geisha that came in at #7 in the 2019 Best of Panama Specialty Coffee Auction and was produced by Finca Los Cenizos.

This geisha was shown to us by our friend Ezequiel Batista /aka/ Quielito (@quielitobat) from Chiriqui, Panama.

After sample roasting it, we put together an all-Panamian geisha cupping table with some of the top geishas from Boquete, Volcan and Cerro Punta in Chiriqui. 

Think of an all-star game, but for Panama geisha coffee! We had Panama’s finest join us for the cupping: @quielitobat @baristagallardo @agirlfrom96 @arielbatista197 @barublack_farm @blackmountainpanama @everythingcoffeefun

The coffee shined at the cupping table, over all the other geishas. It reminded us of Juicy Fruit gum. We immediately knew we had to take this discovery back to Canada with us and share it with our friends! 

So Damian and Quielito went on a mission to seek out Finca Los Cenizos. and WE THE ORIGIN  was fortunate to purchase some of the coffee.

Fast forward to summer 2020, Finca Los Cenizos was preparing to enter the 2020 Best of Panama with their Stellar Amber Geisha because it was apparently an even better coffee compared to the previous years Juicy Fruit.

Without sampling or cupping, WE THE ORIGIN purchased the Stellar Amber Geisha from Finca Los Cenizos via direct trade.

We purchased it blind, because that’s how pirates roll ☠️

We paid USD $35/lb before the auction. Our strategy paid off, since Stellar Amber Geisha went for USD $56.50/lb in the auction, 60% higher than our purchase price. 

The coffee arrived in Canada in December and after playing around with various roast profiles, we launched the award-winning Stellar Amber Geisha on our menu! It placed 10th in the 2020 Best of Panama Specialty Coffee Auction🏆

It’s bright, floral and effervescent. One of the best overall coffees we’ve come across in recent memory.

☠️Kiwi

☠️Melon

☠️Créme Caramel

☠️Honey Plum

It's crazy that we can offer such an incredible coffee at this price. But that’s the benefit of building direct trade relationships with trusted producers. We took a calculated risk when we purchased it blind, but it paid off in the end and we can extend this benefit to everyone in #TheCrew.

We’re fortunate to offer such a “stellar” coffee listed on our store☠️🏴‍☠️☕️