Newsletter | When Panamanian Gesha meets Chinese taste buds - Panamanian coffee becomes the "favorite" Gesha of young Chinese consumers | Chen Haoquan | Coffee Beans
Boquete, Panama, June 10th News | When Panamanian Gesha meets Chinese taste buds - Panamanian coffee becomes the "favorite" of young Chinese consumers
In a hotel at the foot of Mount Baru, Panama's highest peak, the sound of coffee cups is being sipped. Each type of Gesha coffee beans "born and raised" at the foot of the volcano was ground and brewed, vying to please the taste buds of judges from all over the world.
On February 19, a worker carried freshly picked coffee beans at the Peterson family estate in the Boquete area of Chiriqui Province, Panama. Photo by reporter Chen Haoquan
The 28th "Best of Panama" Green Coffee Bean Competition concluded recently in Boquete, a city in western Panama. 180 types of coffee beans produced from local estates were initially screened by Panama's domestic judges and then handed over to international judges for scoring. The champions of each category were ultimately ranked according to scores.
The "Best of Panama" Green Coffee Bean Competition started in 1996. It is one of the earliest international green coffee bean competitions and is hosted by the Panama Specialty Coffee Association. After the competition each year, the "Champion Bean" is open to buyers from all over the world for bidding.
There are many industry professionals from China in this year’s competition. Hunter Tedman, chairman of the Panama Specialty Coffee Association, told reporters that in recent years, more and more Chinese judges, buyers and consumers have participated in the competition, which fully reflects the rising attention of Panama coffee in the Chinese market.
On February 19, a worker picked coffee beans at the Peterson family estate in the Boquete area of Chiriqui Province, Panama. Photo by reporter Chen Haoquan
According to the organizer, there are many Chinese judges among the 21 international judges in this competition. The guest judges who taste the flavor of Panama coffee on behalf of buyers also include many people from the Chinese coffee industry, and some Chinese coffee lovers specially come to Come and join this annual coffee event.
Guo Jin from Shenzhen has been invited to serve as an international judge for the competition for the seventh time. She entered the specialty coffee industry 12 years ago and is currently the manager of a domestic specialty coffee chain brand. Guo Jin told reporters that the Asian market is the main market for Panamanian Geisha coffee beans. With the rapid growth of the Chinese coffee market in recent years, the Panamanian coffee industry has paid more and more attention to its relationship with Chinese customers.
Guo Jin said that her brand has more than a dozen cafes in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other places, and Geisha coffee beans imported from Panama contribute nearly half of the brand's sales every year. "Gesia coffee beans have main flavors such as jasmine, bergamot and sweet orange. They are close to the flavor of tea that Chinese people like to drink, so they are popular among Chinese consumers."
Wang Zongxin, also from Shenzhen, is a guest judge of this competition and entered the coffee industry 6 years ago. In his opinion, in addition to having many similarities with Chinese tea in terms of flavor, Panama Gesha coffee beans also have hand-brewed brewing methods that are similar to tea culture, satisfying young people’s pursuit of freshness and therefore becoming a Chinese tea. The “favorite” of young consumer groups.
This is a photo of coffee beans being dried at the Petersson family estate in Boquete, Chiriquí Province, Panama on February 19. Photo by reporter Chen Haoquan
At present, the main model of China-Pakistan specialty coffee trade is to import green coffee beans from Panama, roast them domestically, and then sell them. However, there are also Chinese companies involved in the production of Panama Gesha coffee beans.
Zhang Xiangdong, chairman of Zhenggu Group, who came to observe this competition, told reporters that his company mainly deals in organic food in China and is currently cooperating with Panama Manor to produce organic Geisha coffee beans for sale in the domestic market.
Zhang Xiangdong said that the company has two planting plots in Panama's Boquete production area. Coffee farmers will use sustainable methods to grow organic coffee beans in the plots, such as mixing local trees to provide shade and wind protection for the coffee trees, or using insectivores. Biological control methods such as birds, parasitic wasps and fungi control pests and achieve a virtuous cycle of economic and environmental benefits.
Tedman said that Chinese consumers have become one of the most important consumer groups of Panama Geisha coffee beans. In order to promote the scale and branding of the coffee export industry, the Panama Specialty Coffee Association has registered the "Panama Geisha" trademark in several major countries in recent years. China is one of the first markets to complete trademark registration.
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