Although Central America does not produce a large volume of coffee, accounting for only 11% of global coffee production, it enjoys great renown, largely because many of its producing countries focus on growing high-quality coffee. Panama, for example, is famous for producing the Geisha variety, which boasts delicate floral, jasmine and peach-like aromas.

At first, when the Geisha variety arrived in Panama, it was not well received by local farmers. Even though the Geisha variety of that time had some resistance to leaf rust, its plants were relatively fragile and required a great deal of time to care for, so it was not widely planted. It was not until Hacienda La Esmeralda discovered the Geisha variety's unique flavor and entered the Geisha variety in the 2005 Best of Panama (BOP) competition and auction that Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha variety took first place with an outstanding score, received extremely high praise, and even broke the record for green coffee auction prices at the time, which is how the Geisha variety became famous in the coffee world.

At the same time in Panama, quite a few coffee estates also began planting the Geisha variety one after another. Currently, in Panama's three major coffee-producing regions of Boquete, Volcan-Candela and Renacimiento, many well-known estates have also emerged, such as Elida Estate, Janson Estate and Hartmann Estate. But when it comes to one of Panama's largest coffee growers, the Gallardo Family must be mentioned.

The Gallardo Family has a long history of coffee growing, having begun cultivating coffee in 1960. To date, the Gallardo Family owns 5 coffee-growing estates. Starting in the 1970s, the Gallardo family's José Manuel Gallardo Sr began managing coffee estates in Panama, and later his son, José Manuel Gallardo Araúz, carried on his father's legacy, running the family's coffee estates.

However, at first the Gallardo family planted some common varieties such as Typica, Caturra and Catuai at lower-altitude areas, until 2006, when the current estate owner, José Manuel Gallardo Araúz, discovered that his Finca Nuguo had a relatively unique growing environment with the ability to grow the Geisha variety, so he began trying to cultivate the Geisha variety at Finca Nuguo.

Nuguo Estate is located in the Jurutungo area of the Renacimiento region, at an altitude of 1850-1900 m. Among Panama's three main coffee regions, Renacimiento is less well known than Boquete and Volcan-Candela, because Renacimiento is remote and difficult to access, so its processing and transport infrastructure is relatively weak. However, this region is likewise rich in natural resources.

The Renacimiento region is located in the most remote part of Panama, bordering Costa Rica. The area has fertile soil provided by nearby volcanic mountain ranges, and lies near La Amistad International Park, the largest natural rainforest reserve in Central America.

Thanks to the rainforest reserve here, the coffee can be grown under shade, and the nighttime temperatures here are lower, with a large temperature difference between day and night, high rainfall and high humidity, making it an ideal growing environment for coffee. Nuguo Estate covers only 5 hectares, and because it is close to the rainforest reserve, Nuguo Estate is also home to many different kinds of birds, hence the name nuguo (meaning "bird" in Spanish).

However, this environment poses many challenges for coffee processing, requiring great attention to humidity and temperature to ensure the production of high-quality coffee. Therefore, the estate owner and his wife are involved in everything from coffee growing to processing, and a coffee processing plant was also built here so that the coffee can be processed immediately after harvest, which is what makes high-quality coffee possible. In 2015, the Gallardo family entered Geisha produced at Nuguo Estate in the Best of Panama (BOP) for the first time and won the champion of the washed group, and it has since appeared on the BOP list many times.

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