Panama coffee  and salsa elevate the soul

By Margot Thomas

Panamanian coffee has become a measuring stick for coffee growers around the world with the quality of the fine and aromatic beans from the highlands of Chiriqui while multi grammy awards winner Ruben Blades has set the height of the bar for salsa singers. 

Now after several years of‘ marinating’, Blades has combined with   Benito Bermúdez, founder, barista, and roaster of Café Unido to market  Café Siembra, which will serve as an exponent of the local aroma and flavor in local markets and internationally.

The project combines two great exponents of Panama, coffee, and the musical legacy of the artist and composer Rubén Blades, who puts his signature on the packaging as a seal of quality and support for the pn national, product highlights Benito.

“Café Siembra is a mixture of two types of coffee, a very fruity natural one, with a native flavor and a washed coffee that allows a balance. It is a composition of 75% natural caturra coffee and 25% washed catuai, toasted omni roast type, with a profile that represents all Panamanians.

“We wanted to create a well-balanced coffee that everyone would like, which will represent Panama and a coffee to drink every day.”

Benito Bermúdez details that the coffee is available in all Café Unido stores in the country and also through the store’s online commerce and in Washington DC. “We are sending green coffee from Panama to the United States to our store in Washington DC, where we have also just set up our roasting center to have fresh coffee for the entire market,” Bermúdez details.

Like the entire restaurant sector, the coffee shop business was also affected by the stoppage of activities imposed by the authorities as a result of the pandemic.

However, Bermúdez says that in the midst of confinement they took advantage of electronic commerce and delivery to remain active with the sale of a wide variety of specialty coffees, food and implements to learn how to make at home. a high quality coffee.

He maintains that the pandemic has also been the opportunity for many of the fans and lovers of good coffee to learn how to prepare it correctly. “It has been quite successful with the sale of equipment to make filtered coffee at home and even more professionally.”

Making coffee is a science that honors the hard work of Panamanian coffee growers. A roasted or ground grain that with its aroma elevates the soul.