At the 2025 Best of Panama, Finca Sophia took home two top placements in one go: second in the Washed Geisha category (96.25 points) and third in the Natural Geisha category (96.25 points). For an estate established only in 2008, this report card is quite impressive.
Sophia's starting point was an experimental farm. In 2008, a group of friends passionate about Panamanian coffee got together and converted an existing vegetable farm into an experimental coffee estate, wanting to see where the limits of growing coffee in Panama lay. The team included Willem Boot, who had spent years deeply involved in cupping, biologist David Pohl, and Kelly Hartmann, who later became a long-term resident on site—Sophia has carried a strong "R&D" character from birth. The estate is located in the village of Nueva Suiza near Boquete, adjacent to La Amistad International Park. Most plots sit above 2,000 meters in elevation, with the official stated maximum at about 2,130 meters, making it one of the few estates in Panama able to reach such heights. In the cloud forest, sunlight is limited and the temperature difference between day and night is large, so the coffee grows slowly, yet the flavor gains much of the delicate floral aroma found only in cool highland zones.
Sophia divides the farm into many small plots according to the terrain, with names such as Cabaña, Torcaza, and Ciprés each corresponding to a certain elevation and microclimate. In addition to Geisha, they also try growing the guava variety Guayabita, as well as experimental varieties they named themselves, such as Enigma, conducting flavor experiments in rotation with washed, natural, and honey processing. On the cupping table, Sophia's Geisha often stands out for white flowers, bergamot, and fine citrus acidity, and the clean mouthfeel brought by high altitude is especially distinct in the washed lots. The confidence behind two consecutive years of 96.25 points comes from this stable expression. As early as 2016, Sophia received a U.S. Good Food Award; in 2017 and 2020 it won the BOP Washed Geisha category twice, and in 2020 it also took the Panama Cup. The two 96.25 scores in 2025 once again sent this young estate onto the double podium. At the end of 2025, the estate also held its own private auction for the first time.
From experimental plot to award podium, Sophia has spent more than a decade proving that with high altitude plus people who are willing to dig deep, latecomers can also gain a firm foothold in Panama.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
