We love the opportunity to work with lesser-known producers growing exceptional coffee—especially in Panama, where the landscape is often dominated by large estates and well-known names. Dinga is a school teacher in a small town outside Volcán, cultivating a tiny backyard garden of Gesha. In the cup we find white florality, lychee, and nectarine.
Gesha
Renacimiento, Volcán
1,450 masl
February, 2025
From Franz at Lost Origin: "Fermentation was carried out in custom-built stainless steel tanks, guided by yeasts LOY-007P and LOB-001P. A fermentation medium was used at a volume of 103.3 liters, representing a 15% concentration. The process lasted 8 days under controlled conditions in an average temperature of 12.65°C (54.77°F). The coffee was dried over 18.3 days in temperature and humidity-regulated drying rooms."
ABOUT DIGNA NUÑEZ
Digna Nuñez is a school teacher in the town of Renacimiento and manages a small family farm. This is her first year selling cherry to Lost Origin, and we are honored to help bring her coffee to market.
ABOUT LOST ORIGIN
Lost Origin is an exciting new enterprise in its second year of operation. It is essentially a coffee 'makers' project whose members buy cherry from producers and do their processing in a lab. This is, to our knowledge, the most advanced and sophisticated project of its kind, and we are humbled and honored to have the opportunity to work with their inaugural lot. Though we pride ourselves on sourcing immaculate washed coffees that are pure representations of 'terroir,' we also believe there is still much to be learned in this pursuit. We're beyond excited to see where this project leads us.
ABOUT GESHA
Gesha was originally collected from coffee forests of Ethiopia in the 1930's. From there, it was sent to the Lyamungo Research Station in Tanzania, and then brought to Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) in Central America in the 1953, where it was logged as accession T2722. It was distributed throughout Panama via CATIE in the 1960’s after its tolerance to coffee leaf rust was recognized. However, it was not widely planted because the plant's branches were brittle and not favored by farmers. Gesha came to prominence in 2005, when the Peterson family of Boquete, Panama, entered it into the Best of Panama competition and auction. It received exceptionally high marks and broke the then-record for green coffee auction prices, selling for over $20 per pound. Since then, the variety has become a resounding favorite of brewing and roasting competition winners and coffee enthusiasts alike.
Pricing Details
FARM GATE
$72.66/KG
DDP
$78.92/KG
The cost of getting a coffee from cherry to beverage varies enormously depending on its place of origin and the location of its consumption. The inclusion of price transparency is a starting point to inform broader conversation around the true costs of production and the sustainability of specialty coffee as a whole.