MOUTHFUL OF DIAMONDS, Panama

Suitable for all brewing methods.

Roasters Notes: Mandarin, Yuzu, Jasmine, Orange Blossom

Producer	Roberto Brenes
Farm	Finca Auromar
Region	Candela, Chiriquí
Varietal	Geisha 'Firestone' Lot
Processing	Washed
Altitude	1,570 - 1,770 MASL

Finca Auromar was founded in 2006 by Roberto Brenes, after a long career in finance, and named for his daughter Aurora. It was planted from the outset for Geisha alone, which at the time was still a gamble rather than a certainty. The estate has since taken first place at Best of Panama three times, in 2013, 2016 and 2022, the last of those in the Washed Geisha category with this very lot. Three wins at that competition is a rarefied record, and it places Auromar among the most closely watched Geisha producers in the country.

The farm sits at Candela in Chiriquí, 30.5 hectares of which half is kept as highland tropical forest under natural reserve. The Geisha grows between 1,570 - 1,770 metres beneath native shade and high-altitude avocado trees, the estate deliberately shaped so that cultivation and conservation occupy the same ground. The lot is called Firestone, after the Ironman triathlons Brenes competes in. The name is not decoration. It describes how the place is run.

Best of Panama is the auction that sets the ceiling for the entire category, and Auromar sells into it. Their washed Geisha took 54 US dollars a pound at the 2020 auction under the Ironman name, and by 2024 the auction as a whole was averaging 627 US dollars a pound across its winning lots. Panama Geisha is also protected by Denominación de Origen, and the seal on this jar is the government mark certifying that origin. Volumes at this level are counted in kilograms, not sacks. Most of it never reaches a shelf at all, and what does is gone before it is announced.

Cherries are taken only at peak ripeness, then depulped and fermented for 12 - 18 hrs. They are washed, sun-dried, hand-sorted twice, and rested at least six weeks before release. Nothing about the method is exotic. It is the traditional washed protocol executed without a single concession, on fruit that does not require anything further to stand nothing short of outstanding.