Lamastus Family Estates, Finca Lérida, and Hacienda La Esmeralda won the Geisha Washed, Geisha Natural, and Copa Panamá awards at the 2026 Best of Panama, Panama’s national coffee competition. The international online auction for the winning lots closed September 24, generating $3,041,940 in total sales, led by a record breaking $270,060 sale for 15 kilograms of Lamastus’s Elida Geisha Torre, or $18,004 per kilogram, the highest price ever paid for coffee at auction. None of the three winning lots is sold in bulk to home brewers since they went to specialty buyers at auction, but all three estates have other current harvest Geisha moving through retail partners.
The Coffees & Where to Buy
Geisha Washed: Lamastus Family Estates, Elida Estate
Elida Estate has been in the Lamastus family since 1918, more than half of it inside Volcán Barú National Park at high elevation under near constant fog. The winning lot, a washed Geisha from a plot the family calls Torre, sold for $270,060 for 15 kilograms, or $18,004 per kilogram, to a buyer identified in auction coverage as Grand Cru.
Grand Cru’s own retail availability isn’t confirmed as of September 26, 2026. Lamastus doesn’t sell coffee directly to consumers, but LF Coffee, a German roaster that has worked with the family since 2020, carries washed Elida Geisha Torre from the current harvest and ships to the US, though as of September 26, 2026 it’s sold out.
Geisha Natural: Finca Lérida
Finca Lérida is a cloud forest estate in Boquete founded in 1917. Owner María Antonella Amoruso C.’s Geisha Natural entry, grown in a plot called Alto Quiel, scored 95.63 points, the highest Natural score in this year’s competition, and sold for $202,575 for 15 kilograms to a buyer identified in auction coverage as RULI Coffee.
RULI Coffee’s own retail availability isn’t confirmed as of September 26, 2026. Finca Lérida’s own site is built around its hotel and doesn’t sell coffee retail, but Boquete Coffee Traders, whose own product pages already cite the estate’s 2026 Geisha Natural win, carries Finca Lérida Geisha from the current harvest and ships internationally, including to the US, though as of September 26, 2026 it’s sold out.
Copa Panamá: Hacienda La Esmeralda
Hacienda La Esmeralda took the Copa Panamá, awarded for the highest combined score across every lot a producer enters rather than a single standout lot. Its Tumaco Geisha Natural, grown at roughly 1,750 meters in Cañas Verdes, sold for $150,360 for 15 kilograms to a buyer identified in auction coverage as SAZA Coffee, described as a regular top buyer at this auction.
SAZA Coffee’s own retail availability isn’t confirmed as of September 26, 2026. Hacienda La Esmeralda’s own site is a private trade platform, not a consumer shop, but Rosso Coffee Roasters, a Calgary, Canada roaster, carries a rotating lineup of Hacienda La Esmeralda micro lots and ships to the US.
Varietals: Altieri Specialty Coffee
The Varietals category covers non Geisha varieties such as Catuai, Caturra, Pacamara, Typica, and Laurina. Familia Altieri’s entry took the category with 93.63 points. Unlike the three Geisha winners above, Altieri roasts and sells its own coffee directly, so there’s no separate buyer to track down.
The Win
Best of Panama is Panama’s national coffee competition, organized by the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama (SCAP). First held in 1996, the 2026 edition was its 30th. Producer members submit their finest lots, which are cupped blind by a national jury and then an international panel before the winning lots go to a global online auction.
The competition judges three categories, Geisha Washed, Geisha Natural, and Varietals, plus a separate Copa Panamá award for the producer with the highest accumulated score across every lot they enter, regardless of category. The 2026 edition drew 180 lots from 73 participating members.
For more on Best of Panama and past winners, visit our Best of Panama page.