History of Coffee in Panama: From Arrival to Geisha Fame

The history of coffee in Panama is relatively brief, yet deeply compelling. Today, this humble bean—and more importantly, the beverage it produces—sits comfortably at the center of Panamanian daily life. Coffee is no longer a luxury or a curiosity; it is a constant.

From the neighborhood fonda to the most exclusive dining rooms in the country, Panamanian coffee is now served with pride. But this sense of identity and confidence around our coffee did not always exist.

Coffee first arrived in Panama in 1742, traveling aboard a ship from the French Caribbean—likely from Martinique or, most probably Haiti, which was already an established coffee producer at the time. The vessel reached Portobelo via Cartagena, a port city where coffee was not grown, and among its registered cargo was a single barrel of coffee beans.

Still, arrival did not mean adoption.

It was not until 1780 that the first recorded attempts to cultivate coffee on Panamanian soil took place. The colonist Pedro Antonio de Ayarza experimented with planting coffee in Portobelo during the 1780s, only to discover that the region’s climate, low elevation, and coastal conditions were poorly suited for the crop. Coffee requires cooler temperatures, consistent rainfall, and well-drained soils—conditions absent from Panama’s Caribbean lowlands.

By the second decade of the nineteenth century, coffee began to take root in the highlands of western Panama, particularly in what is now the province of Chiriquí. Regions such as Boquete, Volcán, and the Tierras Altas—situated along the slopes of the Barú Volcano—offered the ideal combination of altitude, volcanic soils, cool mountain temperatures, and distinct microclimates necessary for high-quality coffee production.

Like many great beverages, coffee had to fight for its place. It first displaced chocolate—an American-born drink with deep roots in pre & post colonial life—and then competed directly with tea, which was already firmly established in European culture. Over time, coffee prevailed, and Panama quietly began refining its own expression of the drink.

Today, Panama is synonymous with some of the finest high-altitude coffees in the world. The country holds the world record price per pound for Geisha coffee from Boquete, and Panamanian specialty coffees grown in the mountainous regions of Chiriquí are among the most sought-after by roasters and collectors worldwide.

For a country with a short coffee history, Panama has left a lasting mark—shaped by geography, elevation, and time—one cup at a time.