Hacienda La Esmeralda is a family owned company that produces specialty coffee in the highlands of Boquete, located in the South-West mountains of Panama, and is home to the famous award-winning Esmeralda Special Geisha Coffee. At Esmeralda, we take pride in achieving the highest standards of sustainable coffee production. We devote time and attention to the details and fine touches that have always distinguished us from other coffee producers in the world. Hacienda La Esmeralda is owned by the Peterson Family.
Our Farms
Situated amongst volcanic mountain ridges surrounding the Boquete River Valley, our farms offer a range of lush micro-climates, fed by two ocean breezes.
Jaramillo Farm:
The Jaramillo Farm is where the Geisha Variety was first discovered in 2004 by Daniel Peterson (Grandson of Esmeralda founder Rudolph Peterson). The geisha variety form Hacienda La Esmeralda first competed and won in the Best of Panama in 2004, and continued to win for many years after. In the Jaramillo micro-climates, the Geisha’s bright, floral aromatics express themselves boldly. With cooler temperatures and massive shade trees that have been standing for ages, Jaramillo is the perfect place for this variety to have landed. To this day many of our top performing micro lots of Geisha coffee (with names such as Mario, Bosque, Noria and Reina) come from little patches on the slopes of Jaramillo. This area is influenced from both the Atlantic and Pacific ocean, and enjoys a high humidity level year round.
Cañas Verdes Farm:
On the slopes of the majestic Volcán Baru, Cañas Verdes is part of the original Peterson holdings since 1967. Cañas Verdes has a distinct three to four months dry season, producing balanced and fruity Geisha micro-lots with structured acidity and a high complexity in the cup. Coffees from this farm have also set world auction records in the Best of Panama.
El Velo Farm (located in Alto Quiel):
El Velo is the newest of Hacienda La Esmeralda’s farms, since 2012. On a slightly sloping terrain, this 50 hectares farm is neatly divided into rows and organized into different producing areas. The farm is planted with Geisha variety, as well as other exotics varieties like Bourbon Pointu, Pacamara and SL-28, along with some 400+ other accessions from Ethiopia as part of a long-term exploration of high quality cup, disease resistance and commercial viability.
The farm is planted from 1,650-1,900 masl, though the land continues up the mountain all the way to 2,900 masl, where there is a nature reserve home to the famous Quetzal and other endangered birds and animals.
Since 2008, Hacienda La Esmeralda runs the Esmeralda Special Single Estate Auction which features our highest scoring geisha micro lots.
Visit our website for more information regarding maps of our farms, registration to our auction and descriptions of our brands.
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