In a private auction, in the early hours of Wednesday, September 7, the Lamastus family sold a pound of geisha coffee for $6,034 to the Black Gold Coffee company in Taiwan.

The Elida Geisha Aguacatillo Honey lot was consolidated as the star of the event, becoming the highest paid seven pounds of the auction, in a bid and rebate of a total of 25 lots made up of 1,762 pounds, with an average price of $341.24 per pound.

"It is a great pride for the Lamastus family, to see how a Panamanian product reaches such high levels, in such demanding markets," said Wilford Lamastus Jr., who is part of the family clan that has been producing coffee in Chiriqui for over 100 years. 

Companies from China, Japan, the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and the United States competed to take the select grains presented in boxes specially designed in Panama, to display the high-end product.

Aguacatillo Honey is a Finca Elida lot from which only seven pounds were produced in 2022. The plantation is deep in a forest park, partially covered by a mountain above 2,000 meters above sea level.

The lot was harvested late, due to the elevation where it is produced. It was meticulously processed and the drying phase was done slowly, in the so-called African beds, for 20 days. It is a structure that keeps the cherries off the ground and allows air to circulate more easily for uniform drying.

Lamastus Jr. said what happened at the auction shows that "Panama's geisha coffee continues to outperform itself."

Along with dozens of producers from Chiriquí, he is looking forward to the auction of the Association of Specialty Coffees, which will take place on October 6, in which 46 batches of producers in the region will participate.