
There are two different processing methods that are utilized in Boquete. The first is wet processing, which is done immediately after the coffee cherries have been picked by local workers from the trees. The cherries are washed in a machine, then pulped and then finally dried. When the cherry has been dried out, the bean is extracted - interestingly, only 20 per cent of what is pulled from the trees is coffee bean.
Alternatively you can find dry processing, which is done by laying the beans out on open air platforms to dry out. The beans have to be raked and rotated every few hours to ensure that they are evenly dried and that there is no build up of mildew. This process gives the beans a gorgeous earthy flavor, but it is more labor intensive and therefore more expensive.
After the processing has been completed, then the beans are selected according to their size and overall quality. They are classified and then stored for up to six months, where they undergo a process called cupping, which judges the beans for their readiness.
The harvesting season just started and it will run until mid January coinciding with Coffee and Flower festival which is held in mid January, bring thousands of tourists to Boquete.
The harvest is done 100% manually, there is no machinery implied to collect the coffee beans, literally thousands of workers will participate in the several hundred coffee farms all around the mountains in Boquete.
The coffee farmers are well organized, several international organizations come to Boquete a few times a year to rate and rank our coffee, Boquete´s coffee has earned the first position for many years in a row.
1. http://boquetepanamacoffee.com/
2.http://www.boquetecoffeetour.com/
3. http://www.hablayapanama.com/ecotourism/boquete/coffee/
4. http://www.caferuiz.com/
5. http://coffeeadventures.net/
6. http://haciendaesmeralda.com/
There you have it! So start making plans to come and enjoy this great adventure, take a coffee tour and become a coffee snob! we´ll be waiting for you in La Casa de la Abuela to ensure you the best coffee experience of your life!