Eugene Altieri • Washed-Processed Gesha

Every morning, millions of us reach for coffee without thinking about the journey from cherry to cup. But here's what most people don't know: the way those cherries are processed determines whether your coffee tastes like chocolate, berries, or wine.

Coffee processing isn't just technical necessity, it's where science meets art, where tradition meets innovation, and where a producer's skill can transform an ordinary harvest into something extraordinary. The same coffee, processed three different ways, becomes three completely different experiences in your cup.

When you think of Panama, you might think of a canal or that narrow strip of land connecting continents. But sitting at lunch with Eugene Altieri in Boquete last March, we discovered something that reshaped how we see this country's coffee story. Origin visits are always great, but what I wanted to know is what makes a coffee $10k per kg at the producer level. Is it just marketing or is there something to Panama's quality. What we learned very quickly was the attention to detail in Panama is unmatched. Whether it's taking 11-15 passes to only pick ripes or sorting every cherry by hand or keeping the mill perfectly clean, we saw production like no other for coffee that tastes like no other.