LOS MENDOZA

Highlights

“Bajo Grande is about as high as coffee grows in Panama. Anthony Mendoza and Anellys Cano, a married couple and both scientists, planted geisha there in 2020 on the flank of the Barú volcano, somewhere between 2200 and 2400 masl. Their first micro lot came off the farm in 2025 and they named it Ian, after the eldest of their three children. Up that high the nights stay cold and the cherries take their time, so the sugars have longer to build. They pulp the fruit, ferment it for three days in the cold, then dry it slowly for about a week in a room they keep cool and steady. That last step is the CRD on the label, their cool drying room. The honey comes out light rather than heavy. Coffee flower and white peach, a clean sweet lemon edge, and papaya resting behind them. The farm is young and we are glad to be here early.”