Panama Breaks Two Coffee World Records and Crowned Champions of the Panama Cup 2025

Hacienda La Esmeralda rocked the Best of Panama 2025 with historic scores:

Geisha Lavado: 98.00 pts (world record)

Natural Geisha: 97.00 pts (world record)

Varietals: 92.88 pts

This unprecedented feat was recognized by 22 international judges during the ‘Cata’ or ‘Tasting’ in Boquete, who praised the unparalleled quality of Panamanian coffee.

You may have been wondering what all the fuss was about in Boquete at the Tourist Information Center, known as CEFATI, pictured below.  It was a Boquete Coffee Festival.

Panamanian Coffee Achieves Historic Scores in the 29th Edition of the Best of Panama

Breaking the scoreboard in two geisha coffee categories and achieving first place in the varietal category, the Peterson family’s Hacienda La Esmeralda won the Panama Cup, positioning them as the best specialty coffee producers in the country.

This is the result of the twenty-ninth edition of the “The Best of Panama” tasting with international judges, organized by the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama (SCAP).

“I’m in disbelief at this achievement, because getting three first places has never happened at the Best of Panama, we didn’t expect it, I’m so excited. First place for Varietal with a Laurina from El Velo, a first place for Geisha Natural, which is a record, and first place for Geisha Lavado, which is another record. So we couldn’t be happier,” said Rachel Peterson of Hacienda La Esmeralda.

It is worth noting that in the evaluation table, after the careful examination of 22 judges from different parts of the world, the washed Geisha coffee from Hacienda La Esmeralda obtained 98 points, while in the washed Geisha coffee category from the same hacienda, it obtained 97 points and in the varietal category a sample obtained 92.88 points.

For Will Young, head judge of this competition, Panama has established itself as the producer of the best coffee in the world.

For his part, Richard Koyner, President of SCAP, described the competition as incredible, with some judges giving the winning samples perfect scores of 100.

He confirmed that the winning coffee lots in each category will be entered into SCAP’s annual electronic auction, scheduled for August 6, where Panama leads the world in record prices per kilogram with the prized gem, the Panama Geisha.

Scores by category:

A-Geisha Washes

2nd place 96.25 points Finca Sophia.

3rd place 95.27 points Nuguo café from the Gallardo family.

B-Natural Geishas

2nd place 96.25 Finca Los Cenizos.

3rd place 96.25 Finca Sophia.

C- Varietals

2nd place 92.63 points for Hunter Tedman’s Black Moon Farm

3rd place 92.25 Cantera farm of the Garrido sisters.