I have three snobberies, of which I’m sometimes proud, sometimes embarrassed. You know what they are: music, wine, and coffee.
On the topic of the latter, there has been a bit of hype around the Esmeralda variety of coffee. Grown in Panama, it comes from one particular plantation, the Hacienda La Esmeralda. Sure it’s just plain old coffee (an heirloom variety of arabica, form Ethiopia, called Geisha), but it’s also won best of Panama four years running. Last May, the harvest went to auction, and garnered an interesting record: the most expensive coffee out there.
With only 500 pounds produced (green beans), it went for $130 USD a pound. This is a photo of the stuff (yes, I took it):
Last week, courtesy of Acik Grobawski (roaster at the Roasterie, here in Cowtown), I was able to share a cup of this nectar with him.
$20 a cup. Would you spend that? Perhaps not on a regular basis, but once (just once?), just to say you tried it? Well I didn’t have to pay. Seems that one of Acik’s customers (he custom roasts for people) managed to get some of this, and treated him to a pot of the stuff. The new Panama Gold.
The verdict? It’s good stuff. Very very (very!) smooth, with chocolate and spice overtones. It was a medium roast (shame to over-do this one, and destroy all the nuances) and French-pressed.
I happened to drop in at the right time.