When it comes to Geisha, many people think of Panama, but in the past, the Geisha variety was not favored by farmers because it was too delicate, troublesome to grow and required long-term care, until 2005, when Hacienda La Esmeralda entered the Geisha variety in the Best of Panama (BOP) competition and auction, taking first place with outstanding results, which also made the Geisha variety famous in the coffee world.

Panama

Panama is located in southern Central America, bordering Colombia to the east and Costa Rica to the west, with its territory forming an S shape that connects North America and South America. The country's terrain is undulating; apart from the plains along the northern and southern coasts, most of it is mountainous.

Panama lies close to the equator and has a tropical maritime climate, humid by day and cool at night, with an average annual temperature of 23-27°C. The year is divided into a dry season and a rainy season, with average annual rainfall of 1500-2500 mm. Panama has several volcanoes, abundant forest and river resources, and distinctive microclimates, giving crops such as coffee ideal growing conditions.

Coffee Regions

Coffee regions are mainly divided into Boquete, Volcan-Candela and Renacimiento. These regions are all located in the west of the country and are surrounded by three volcanoes: Volcan Baru, El Valle and Le Yeguada.

Renacimiento: Boquete and Volcan can be said to be the most well-known coffee regions in Panama, as there are many renowned estates within them. Renacimiento, however, is remote and difficult to access. This region is located in the most remote part of Panama, bordering Costa Rica, with coffee grown at altitudes of 1100-1500 m. But because of its remote location, processing and transportation infrastructure is somewhat reduced, so Renacimiento is not as widely known as Boquete and Volcan. In recent years, however, quite a few estates from Renacimiento have appeared in the BOP and achieved good results, such as Finca Nuguo, owned by the Gallardo family.

Finca Nuguo

Finca Nuguo is located in the Jurutungo area of Renacimiento, situated near La Amistad International Park, the largest natural rainforest reserve in Central America. With an area of only 5 hectares, and because it is close to the rainforest reserve, Finca Nuguo is home to many different species of birds, hence the name "nuguo," which means "bird" in Spanish.

Beginning in the 1970s, José Manuel Gallardo Sr. of the Gallardo family began managing coffee estates in Panama. Today, his son José Manuel Gallardo Arauz (Pocho) has carried on his father's legacy, running 5 coffee estates under the family name, the most famous of which is Finca Nuguo.

The Gallardo family farms grow Typica, Caturra and Catuai coffee varieties at lower altitudes, until 2006, when they discovered the potential of Finca Nuguo and the success of growing the Geisha variety, and therefore began cultivating Geisha.

In the Renacimiento region, however, the location and environment pose great challenges to estates: this region has low nighttime temperatures, strong winds, high humidity and high rainfall. For this reason, Nugu Estate must exercise very strict control over humidity and temperature during coffee processing in order to produce high-quality coffee.

Nugu Estate has taken part in the BOP competition since 2015, and in 2016 it won the BOP variety category championship. Most famously, in 2021, Nugu Estate took first place in the Geisha natural category and second place in the Geisha washed category, and even became the 2021 auction champion, at a price of up to 2568 USD/lb. In 2022, however, production dropped sharply and it did not enter the BOP competition. Then in 2023 it returned to public attention, taking thirteenth place in the Geisha natural category, and this year, 2024, it took third place in the Geisha washed category.