April 2013 - Is there a better place on earth than Panama ?
Date Posted:1 April 2013
 |
This month we turn the focus onto one of our favourite origins - PANAMA There is a really simple reason many smart US citizens elect to retire to Panama - it's a tropical paradise. Perfect micro-climate produce some of the world's best coffee beans. Clean, balanced, sweet, consistent. What more could you want in a coffee bean ? |
Is there a better place on Earth than Panama ?
Many call it an ex-pat's retirement paradise.
Recently, Developers have been moving into this rapidly advancing country and constructing large commercial and residential facilities in what had remained for so long an un-touched beauty.
Panama has a perfect micro-climate and the Boquete and Volcan regions produce absolutely stunning coffees and over the last few years the Geisha varietals have been generally regarded as the best coffees in the world - unfortunately, with a massive price tag attached.
Boquete region benefits from rich volcanic soils that develop a wonderfully clean cup.
Last year we stumbled onto a real cracker of a bean in the superbly presented Casa Ruiz.
So good was this coffee that we had to put down some "hard-earned" up front to secure more of the recent crop that has just arrived into Australia in late April 2013.
One of the key reasons we like this coffee is verstalility and reliability - it never fails to impart enjoyment across a wide range of coffee lovers.
In terms of versatility, some of our specialty cafes run this as a black coffee - something that is quite unusual for Central American beans as they tend to deliver quite high acidity. But this baby has the goods and delivers a sublime creamy texture in a black brew that defies the general laws.
One word describes this coffee - CARAMEL. Truckloads of caramel, especially in milk and the natural sweetness and creamy mouthfeel make it a well-balanced, full flavoured cup.
Hints of apricot and stone fruit dance across the mid-palate when you have nailed the extraction perfectly.
Available in our store in the Single Origins - Panama section.