Roaster: Hydrangea (USA)
Farm/Producer: Hacienda La Esmaralda, Peterson Family
Origin: Boquete, Panama
Varietal: SL34
Process: Natural
Tasting Notes: Kyoho Grape, Rapsberry, Black Tea
Roast Date: 10.10.2025 (frozen after 2 weeks)
https://beanl.ink/l/Q6EMIXOW1P
Hacienda La Esmeralda
Although there is no introduction needed for one of the most coveted coffee farms in the world, we’ll do one anyway. Hacienda La Esmeralda (HLE) is a name many desire, and one that many cherish. There has been a lot of noise about HLE for a variety of reasons this year, mainly for a clean sweep at the Best of Panama auction earlier this year with boasting the highest scoring coffee of all time at the competition. Well, this coffee isn’t that.
Earlier this year at World of Coffee in Geneva, we had the opportunity to meet Rachel Peterson, the lead behind the farm and her daughter who is only dipping her toes in the world of specialty coffee and looks after the quality assurance. Alongside learning more about the history about the farm and how it has evolved over the years, it was an absolute pleasure to indulge in discussions about various topics such as developments qround emerging coffee markets such as India and China. For the latter, they actually supplied the seeds to be planted which had yielded some excellent results so far.
The coffee for today’s advent is an SL34 from the farm which is rather uncommon offering from most roasters. However, one can always rely on Bill to impress with his inventory. A few of us have had the opportunity to try their Gesha, which is one of the best. We hope this coffee still presents the quality you might expect from the farm, albeit in a different style.
- MSA