A Taiwanese company has paid $803 for a pound of geisha coffee produced in the province of Chiriqui, surpassing the highest price of $601 paid for a grain of this type.
In the online auction 'The Best of Panama 2018', the Asian company Black Gold Coffee Co paid the highest amount per pound that has been registered for a coffee of the geisha variety, buying it from Elida Geisha Green Tip Natural which produces the grain in the District of Boquete.
The "Cup of Excellence" competition will take place starting from March 2, 2018, with the presentation of coffee samples, and the online auction will be held on June 5th of the same year.
To participate in the contest, coffee growers must present their coffee samples between March 2nd and 4th, 2018, for them to be evaluated by a national jury between April 3rd and 7th, and by an international jury between the 10th and 13th of the same month.
In the online auction of speciality coffee known as 'The Best of Panama' international buyers paid the record price of $275 per pound for the geisha variety of the grain.
In the auction, organized by the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama (SCAP), a record average price of $60 per pound was reached.
Panamaamerica.com.pa reports that "...The batch that earned the best price was Elida Geisha Green Tip Washed submitted by the Lamastus family, cultivated in the area of Alto Quiel, in the town of Boquete, about 1.800 meters above sea level, and was sold at 275.5 dollars a pound."
In the electronic auction a pound of coffee harvested on the farm Monte Llano Bonito won first place and the amount of $ 59 paid by an international buyer.
On June 21, the Japanese importer Wataru acquired for the coffee roaster Takamura, the best coffee in Costa Rica grown and harvested on the farm SUMA VA in Lourdes Cirri in Naranjo, Valle Occidental, during the International Cup of Excellence Auction.The grainwas sold at $59 a pound or S5900 per hundredweight for a batch of 11 bags.
In the electronic auction a pound of coffee harvested in the El Puente estate in La Paz, took first place with 91.7 points and a record $120 was paid by an international buyer.
The participant in the auction known as the Cup of Excellence 2016 paid $120.5 per pound of coffee from the farm called El Puente Kasai Coffee, followed by Maruyama Coffee & Toa Coffee, who took second place with a price of $120.10 per pound from the farm El Puente.
Starting April 10th coffee farmers can register their products for the pre-selection stage of specialty coffee contest.
The Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) and the National Coffee Association (Anacafe) are calling on coffee growers to take part in the Cup of Excellence 2016, the preselection for which starts on April 10, reported Dca. gob.gt.
From April 7th to 11th coffee tastings will be held of the batches shortlisted to be sold on international auction, which will take place on April 11th.
March 31st saw the beginning of the national tasting of 92 types of Nicaraguan coffees, with a view to the upcoming event 'Finest Coffees of Nicaragua', organized by the Specialty Coffee Association of Nicaragua (ACEN), reported Elnuevodiario.com.ni.
More than 300 farmers will be taking part in Cup of Excellence 2016, where a minimum score of 86% will mean the batch passes on to an online auction on June 16.
The Honduran Coffee Institute (Ihcafé) has certified more than 300 coffee growers for the Cup of Excellence 2016 event in April, the month which will see the starting stage and will feature more than 80 international buyers.
In the Cup of Excellence auction the average price paid for the 24 lots of specialty coffee on offer was $9.17, while the maximum price was $25.80 per pound.
As in the 2014 auction, first place was obtained by the farm El Injerto, from the department of Huehuetenango. For the lot from this farm an international buyer paid $35.80 a pound.
Miguel Medina, president of the National Coffee Association (Anacafe) told Elperiodico.com.gt that "...
In the electronic Cup of Excellence auction 46 lots were sold, with maximum payments reaching $1,410 per hundredweight.
Without beating the prices paid at the auctions of specialty coffee in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and El Salvador, in Panama lot of Esmeralda Geisha Natural Jaramillo coffee, from the Peterson family, won first place in the auction, with a priced of $140 ,10 per pound.
The Japanese company UCC Ueshima Coffee Co. paid $2,350 per hundredweight of gourmet coffee from the farm Positos San Ignacio, in the international electronic auction called the Cup of Excellence.
Twenty-seven lots were entered into the electronic auction, which along with coffee from the farm Positos de San Ignacio, included the farm Nueva Esperanza, which took second place with a price of $2,310 per quintal, and was acquired by buyers in the UK and Asia, mainly. The Nueva Espernza lot was bought by the group Maruyama and Coffee A Gogo from Japan Mesh coffee from South Korea and Orsis Coffee from Taiwan.
The winner in the category Exotic Natural was the lot Geisha Natural Jaramillo submitted by Hacienda La Esmeralda, which along with the winners in the other categories, will be auctioned online on June 23.
Second place was awarded to a batch of Jose Gallardo Geisha, with a score of 93.1, which was also a winner in the washed exotic coffees category. On the other side, first place in the traditional washed category went to Kalithea Jesus Sierra, with a score of 88.39, and second place went to a batch of Elida Lamastus Family Washed with 87.37 points.
134 samples of gourmet coffee passed the first stage of the Cup of Excellence competition and will be auctioned from 20 to 24 April in the Honduran Coffee Institute.
Of the 311 producers who entered the competition, 134 passed on to the second phase, and of them more than 15 samples scored above 90%. The batches that classified come mostly from the regions of La Paz, El Paraíso and Copán.
From April 29 to May 2 a competition will be held among producers of the geisha variety and on June 23 the auction "The Best of Panama" will take place.
"The Best of Panama" competition will evaluate two categories: variety and finish, in order to rule out the lots with less potential and highlight the salient ones, which will advance to the next round to be considered in the auction.
European and American companies who buy specialty coffee in electronic auctions are losing ground to Asian buyers, who in auctions for top grains from markets such as Costa Rica and Guatemala, are pushing up prices to record levels.
Strong growth in coffee consumption in countries such as South Korea and Japan, coupled with the large purchasing power of its inhabitants has boosted demand for gourmet coffee and other special varieties.