Panama - Carmen Estate, Geisha Washed Lot 8

Established in the Paso Ancho district by Efrain and Carmen Francheschi in the 1960s, Carmen Estate boasts a decorated history in the annual Best of Panama, frequently with multiple coffees counting among the top auction lots across the different categories — Geisha Washed, Geisha Natural, and Varietals.

2023 granted Carmen Estate its greatest accolade to date, 1st Place in the Geisha Washed Category, alongside top ranks in Geisha Natural at 9th and 10th, and Varietals at 10th, crowning years of a continuing winning streak.

In 2024, the estate, represented by Jean Paul Langenstein, not only sustained a place within the fiercely competitive Top 10, but secured three spots in the Top 5, 2nd and 4th in the Geisha Natural category and 4th in Varietals.

For more than half a century, the Franceschi family has harnessed the advantages of their farms’ elevation, microclimates, and proximity to the Chiriquí Viejo River to cultivate coffees of remarkable quality and distinctive cup profiles. Their steadfast dedication has positioned Carmen Estate among Panama’s finest, leading the charge in reinforcing the country’s place at the pinnacle of the global coffee industry as a cornerstone of excellence.

Panama Geisha is a rare, delicate, and complex variety well-loved for its sweet florality and citrus highlights. Since its debut win at the Best of Panama auction in 2004, it has kept specialty coffee lovers everywhere captivated by its endless possibilities, delicacy, complexity, and clarity of flavors.

As such, it is often showcased on coffee competition stages by a great number of coffee champions, and it also continues to fetch the highest prices.

While a coffee’s truest intrinsic qualities are still largely believed to be showcased best by traditional washed processing due to the demucilaging, washing, and scrubbing steps removing all traces of fruit from the bean, the expertise of seasoned and passionate producers like The Francheschi Family / Jean Paul Langenstein allows them to direct the flavor character of the Panama Geisha towards a seemingly endless diversity of delightfully surprising trajectories.

They do this through the purposeful implementation of traditional methods like the natural and honey processes, as well as intentional and innovative processing styles.