What Drove the Highest Coffee Price in the 2018 BOP Auction?
A natural Geisha lot from Hacienda La Esmeralda sold for US$803 per pound at the 2018 reliable of Panama auction, the highest coffee price recorded in the event's history and the top lot of the year. All 49 lots closed in about six hours and 30 minutes on July 20, with Taiwanese green bean trader Black Gold Coffee placing the winning bid.
Panama ranks small among world coffee producing countries, so the record reflects quality rather than volume. The country's reduced production narrowed the competition field, and Elida Estate won both the washed and natural Geisha categories, the first double champion in BOP history. The prior record was US$601 per pound in 2017.
The results of the 2018 Best of Panama (BOP) auction have officially been announced, with a natural Geisha setting a new all-time record at a staggering US$803 per pound, becoming this year's top lot. Elida Estate, with its double win in both the washed and natural Geisha categories, became the first "double champion" in BOP history. This year's auction not only witnessed the continued dominance of the Geisha variety, but also reflected the profound impact of reduced production in the Panama region on the scale of the competition. Front Street Coffee takes you through a comprehensive review of the highlights and changes of this world-class green bean competition.
As the world's first green bean competition, the birth of BOP can be seen as a proactive move by Panama's specialty coffee industry in response to the market landscape at the time, and through this it successfully carved out a differentiated path for the country built on quality. Next, Front Street Coffee will review this world-renowned competition with you.
Panama's coffee production is negligible compared to that of other major coffee-producing countries. In the 1990s, the international coffee market remained in a prolonged slump, and the industry crisis forced those involved to seek a new way forward. In 1995, seven coffee-growing families in Panama jointly founded the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama (SCAP); in 1996, the association launched the first Panama green bean competition—Best of Panama (BOP).
At 7 a.m. on July 20, all 49 lots of award-winning coffee beans offered by BOP completed auction, lasting about 6 hours and 30 minutes. Among them, lot number BOP-GN-1, a natural Geisha, sold for US$803 per pound, setting a new record for the highest transaction price (the 2017 BOP had produced the super Geisha washed Sophia, as well as a natural Emerald Geisha with a bidding price as high as US$601 per pound), becoming this year's auction "top lot," with the winning bidder being the Taiwanese green bean trader Black Gold Coffee.
The Geisha variety is divided into two types: Green Tip Geisha and Bronze Tip Geisha. Green Tip Geisha is characterized by floral notes, strong acidity, and sweetness; Bronze Tip Geisha leans toward body and sweetness, with less pronounced acidity.
Visit the BOP official website: http://scap-panama.com
A total of 49 lots of coffee beans participated in this year's bidding. In 2018, BOP introduced a completely new grouping method, dividing entries into four overall groups: the Geisha natural (honey process) group, the Geisha washed group, the traditional varieties natural (honey process) group, the traditional varieties washed group, and the Pacamara group. Compared with 2017, the biggest adjustment was moving honey process, which had previously been included in the washed group, into the natural group.
Among this year's 49 BOP auction lots, Elida Estate's natural Green Tip Geisha (ELIDA GEISHA GREEN TIP NATURAL) won the natural Geisha group championship, with a final transaction price of US$651 per pound, equivalent to about 5,464 RMB per pound. In this auction, Elida Estate was the biggest winner. In the earlier BOP green bean competition, the two coffees Elida entered—washed Geisha and natural Geisha—both won the championships in their respective Geisha categories, making the estate the first "double champion" in BOP history.
The green beans that fetched the second-highest price were won by the Japanese roaster Saza Coffee at US$661 per pound. In the BOP auction, Elida Estate's natural Geisha broke the highest record set by Hacienda La Esmeralda the previous year, becoming the new top lot. There were 18 lots in the natural Geisha group, with the highest transaction price being the group champion, Elida Estate's Green Tip Natural Geisha, which fetched US$803 per pound; the lowest transaction price was US$51 per pound. The washed Geisha group also had 18 lots, with the highest transaction price being the group champion, Elida Estate's Green Tip Washed Geisha, which fetched US$661 per pound; the lowest transaction price was US$51 per pound.
The traditional natural group had 5 lots in total, with the highest transaction price being the group champion, DUNCAN Estate, which fetched US$54 per pound; the lowest transaction price was US$27.50 per pound. The traditional washed group had 3 lots in total, with the highest transaction price being the group champion, Hacienda La Esmeralda, which fetched US$100 per pound; the lowest transaction price was US$32 per pound. The Pacamara coffee group had 5 lots in total, with the highest transaction price being the group champion, DUNCAN Estate, which fetched US$70.5 per pound; the lowest transaction price was US$36.99 per pound.
DUNCAN Estate
As for Hacienda La Esmeralda, the Red Label Washed Geisha, ranked ninth in the washed Geisha group, fetched US$140 per pound; the Red Label Natural Geisha, ranked third in the natural Geisha group, fetched US$151 per pound; and the washed coffee ranked third in the traditional washed group fetched US$100 per pound. Overall, its performance in the auction offered no major surprises.
Industry peers following the Panama region may have already noticed that many estates in Panama experienced varying degrees of reduced production this year, and this impact also spread to this year's BOP competition. In 2017, a total of 163 beans were submitted for competition, while this year only 130 were submitted, a decrease of 20%. For larger estates, entering as usual was not a problem; but for estates that were originally smaller and also affected by reduced production, there may well not have been enough coffee to compete (SCAP requires each lot to submit at least 150 pounds of green beans). For example, several past champion estates in BOP history—Finca La Mula, Finca Sophia, Finca Nuguo, and other high-quality estates—did not participate in this year's BOP (source: GrandCru AAa工aAA).
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
