Panama

By Cafesba , 13 October 2025

Since 1996, the BOP, organized by the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama (SCAP), has brought attention to the high quality of Panamanian coffee.
An article by Price Peterson in SCAP describes this situation in the 2000s.
Geisha coffee beans submitted by Price Peterson's Esmeralda farm were sold for a then-record high price of $21 per pound (about 450g).
This was about 10 times the price of the standard high-end coffee at the time.
The Peterson family separated lots into sections of their large farm and submitted the best-flavored ones to BOP.

By Cafesba , 11 October 2025

With the cooperation of SCAA, SCAP successfully hosted the first BOP in 1996.
SCAA provided support in the following areas:
1. Official cupping form (evaluation of 10 criteria, including aroma, acidity, sweetness, clean cup, and balance)
=> *SCAA Score: Specialty Coffee Evaluation Criteria by SCAA 

2. Blind cupping method (compromising farm and lot names to ensure fairness)
3. Judging protocol (re-cupping at each temperature level and standardized scoring)
Training of local cuppers

By Cafesba , 9 October 2025

After the founding of the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama (SCAP), producers in the Boquete and Volcán regions of Panama, with the cooperation of the Specialty Coffee Association of the Americas (SCAA), began a movement to create a system for having their country's coffee evaluated using international cupping standards.

Then, with the cooperation of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Panama Tourism Board, the first Best of Panama (BOP) coffee quality competition was held in 1996.

By Cafesba , 5 October 2025

Panama is a producer of coffee beans known today as Geisha, a premium specialty coffee.
Coffee production in this country also had deep ties to the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA).
In 1989, the ICO price agreement collapsed, causing coffee prices to fall in producing countries.
For example, in Panama, the price was US$1.20 per pound (approximately 450g), but after the price collapse, it is said to have fallen to US$0.74.