Geisha coffee, a speciality coffee grown in the northern Panama region of Boquete, is considered to be the most expensive in the world — in 2019, the bean broke all records by selling for over $1,000 a pound at auction — and every year it attracts coffee-loving buyers from as far as South Korea.

“We’re never going to compete on a commodity level. We’re blessed by this terroir, we’re a speciality and a luxury item, and that’s our niche, that’s our niche in the market. And we have a market for that in Asia, but it’s opening all over the world,” Justin Boudeman, Longboard Specialty Coffee producer said.

“The taste of Panama coffee is very special, which is probably because it is between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and it’s the result of a very particular climate and conditions. The Geisha Panama coffee is pretty well known, and that is why I have come here looking for this particular coffee flavor,” Jung Min Lee, CEO of Marisstella Roasters & Coffee Lab also said.