We are so happy to announce that three of our Great Taste Award winners were micro-lot coffees sourced from La Huella (Cafe de Panama) in Boquete, Panama, as part of our ongoing relationship together. Even more magical, two of these coffees won the prestigious 3 Star award and the other a cracking 2 Star award. This is testament to the quality of the coffee grown, harvested and processed by the producers. These were the only three coffees sourced from La Huella that we roasted and entered into the competition, and we’ve already shared the success and positive judges comments with the group.

Every one of us here at Dark Woods would like to personally thank Pedro Moss and his colleagues for providing such incredible coffees that were a joy to roast. These awards feel like a real team effort right from farm to cup. And having visited back in February we’ve seen each part of that journey.

The two 3 Star coffees were both sun-dried naturals, one primarily from Don Manelia and the Bourbon/Catuai Arabica varietals and the other from a tiny lot of Don Nery’s prized Gesha Arabica trees. The 2 Star is a honey processed Gesha coffee also from Don Nery.

All of these coffees were sun-dried and hand processed at the Alpha 1 micro-mill just outside Boquete’s town centre, but from coffees grown high above the town in the micro-regions of Alto Quiel and Horqueta. Each coffee is hand roasted on our Probatone at the Dark Woods micro-roastery in Marsden, West Yorkshire. La Huella is a member of the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama (SCAP.)

The specialty coffees of Panama, and especially those from the Gesha varietal, are renowned and loved by coffee lovers and experts across the world. But here these coffees are also being prized amongst the very finest artisan cheeses, meats, chocolate, tea, jams, beers & spirits, honeys etc that Europe has to offer.