28 Apr NEW DOCUMENTARY ON THE HISTORY OF COFFEE
In recent years Panama has gained fame and international recognition for the quality of its specialty coffee, participating in renowned competitions among coffee experts worldwide. This boom led the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) to work on a new documentary about coffee that bears the name “Geisha, a story of height”. This documentary was recently released in the province of Chiriqui during the International Fair of San Jose de David, which annually receives more than 300 thousand people.
For Enrique Sanchez, marketing director of the ATP, the launch of this documentary comes at the right time in which Panama is recognized as one of the best coffee producing countries. In the same way, this documentary was also presented during the International Film Festival of Panama having a great receptivity among movie lovers and is expected to be screened at international tourism fairs and gastronomic encounters.
The documentary highlights the great value of Geisha coffee and tells, in voice of the producing families of Tierras Altas and Boquete, the story of how this type of coffee arrived into the region, how it became popular, why it is considered number one worldwide and what is Panama doing to stay among the top producers. Filming was carried out for seven days in the main coffee farms and with the most prominent producers from Boquete and Volcan, such as Ricardo Koyner from Finca Kotowa; Wilford Lamastus from Finca Elida; Francisco Serracín de Don Pachi Estate; Michael Janzon of Janson Coffee Farm; Daniel Peterson from Hacienda La Esmeralda; and Abdiel Lara of Finca Nueva Suiza Hermanos Lara.
In December 2018, the ATP in partnership with MiAmbiente, the Chamber of Tourism of Chiriqui and the Center for Competitiveness of the Western Region of Panama (CeComRo), created the Coffee Circuit, made up of 18 farms located in the districts of Boquete, Tierras Altas and Renacimiento. The starting point of this circuit is the Coffee Exploration Center located in Boquete, where you can learn about the history of the bean, its varieties and the work of coffee farmers in the region.