La Perla, Geisha

Carlos Barrantes's family has owned and operated the Herbazu micromill since the early 2000s, and in the early 2010s, Don Carlos decided to go off and work independently, with a laser focus on the kinds of coffees he wants to produce. He and his wife, Diana, own five small farms and La Perla Del Cafe Micromill—"micro" being the key word here. Not only do the Barrantes only produce about 300 bags a year, their dedication to quality and incredibly high mean they focus on quality over quantity in all ways. They even work with the exact same group of pickers every year, a group of 45 indigenous people from Panama who travel to the farms for work every season, and with whom the Barrantes keep in touch, like family, the rest of the year. This particular coffee is a ‘red’ honey, as opposed to a white, yellow or black honey. The idea behind the red honey is to slow down the rate of drying. So, this coffee is laid on raised beds and is only raked or turned over once in the morning and then again once in the afternoon. What results is a very fruit orientated honey coffee – often more so than certain naturals.