Grown here: the highest rated most expensive coffee in the world!

Boquete was one of those destinations which was not really planned on our itinerary, it more or less came into it the night before. Justin and I were having dinner with Arie and Stephan, and they invited us to join them to go to Boquete. Since we knew we could cut costs, and were planning on getting out of Boca Brava after one night anyway, we decided to join them. Besides, going to a coffee growing region was on our to do list. It boiled down to one of those joys of travel, the change in itinerary based on who you meet and where they are going.

Another aspect that can change travel and which is not necessarily a joy is the weather. It started to rain while we were on the bus from David (as it turns out, all the buses between David and Boquete are old school buses, which not that many buses in Panama are) and was a nice and strong downpour by the time we arrived in Boquete. Our guidebook showed us that there was a hostel right across the street from the bus stop. Considering the weather, we went ahead and booked ourselves into it. As for my take on this gem, see the separate blog entry "Hostel Warning" . I thought that Boquete was really great though. Unfortunately, the weather the day we arrived kept us indoors and away from the attractions. There was a little buffet cafeteria with great prices ( 25 cents for a glass of juice, about $3 for a full plate of food) that had some really great tasting food and nice staff. We ended up eating all our meals there.

A little factoid about the town is that it has turned into a major retirement center for Americans. Real estate prices are rather high, we passed several new houses on the market for $300k+, and a two story spanish style house for $800k even. Whole picking up some snacks in the grocery store, we heard many customers chatting with each other in English (and they also drove Range Rovers, so we were pretty sure they were not other backpackers). The climate here is just about perfect. Comfortable t-shirt weather during the day, never too hot or cold, and at night we slept with a sheet and a wool blanket.

For our day of sightseeing (our 2nd and last day in town) we thought it would be nice to go to a coffee tour. After making enquiries, the cost came back with a shocking price tag. $9 each for a 45 minute tour, or $30 each for a 3 hour tour. Apparently, the expats pay a lot to hear about coffee. We decided to pass. Nothing to keep us from going to Cafe Ruiz for a drink though. While downing a nicely brewed cappuccino, Justin went in search of an employee to talk with so we could learn a bit more about the place, without shelling out $120 and 3 hours of our day. One of the roasters was available, and Carlos also spoke great English. We later found out that he was one of the tour guides. Good thing it was a slow day for him, we ended up chatting with him for well over an hour. The tour guide in him got the better of him, and he went back to the office and got some samples of the coffee for us to smell. In the end, I think we learned more about the place then if we had taken the shorter tour, and this way we saved ourselves a good bit of money. We also met one of the owners. Everyone at the business was great. The owner spoke with us for a half hour as well. Really hospitable. We found out that Cafe Ruiz is the highest rated coffee producer in the world. Their coffee has one the gold medal of international coffee competition for 8 years in a row, and their premium coffee is sold by a partner in the Chicago area for a eye watering $450 a pound. Yep, just about $1000 a kilo. Here is a link to a Forbes article that highlighted the Panamanian coffee a couple years ago, when it was selling for much less. The expat influx into town has been good for them. The American retirees buy up coffee growing land for retirement homes, and that reduces the amount of quality Boquete coffee on the market, raising the price for the remaining crop. A key difference between Costa Rican and Panamanian coffee is that most of the Panamanian coffee is grown in the shad of fruit trees, vs. very little Costa Rican is shade grown. Growing coffee in the shade results in a longer growing cycle, lower crop yield, but a richer taste because the sun does not dry out the coffee bud. The owner explained in detail that the fad of "fair trade coffee" is a total sham. Two examples: in order for his coffee to be "fair trade", he would have to sell it for $1.60 a pound. I think everyone can guess that he is not selling his most expensive coffee to his partner for $449 a pound. But he is certainly making a hell of a lot more than $1.60. Another reasons his coffee can't be "fair trade" certified is because it is a family owned business. Not that this lack of certification has done obvious harm to his business. With that expensive coffee and and $30 tours, they seem to be getting by.

The 4 of us went over to a free private garden to check out some highly rated flora. It had nice views of the valley, and some truly decent flora. Strange concept. Someone decided to open their very nice garden to the public (mi jardin es su jardin). Good on them.

Arie and Stephen decided to go back to the hostel and change for a trip to the hot springs. Justin and I went for a walk along the road that loops around the town and then delivers us back to the downtown core. It was a great walk, going through upper class housing with a 'castle', some of the much cheaper row houses, and some more coffee companies. We passed lots of school kids coming back from class. Some of them asked for money. Free to ask right? But they were fun to exchange holas with. We did get caught in a bit of a rainstorm, but we both had our rain gear with us. Just wish my hat had not been stolen during my last week in Romania. A good hat keeps the rain out of your eyes.

After getting our bags and getting on the bus, we headed down to David and went back to the Purple House to spend the night before heading to San Jose on the early morning bus. Again, Andrea was great. She suggested we go to a local Chinese place for a mountain of chow main. It was a mass of food, but I had been walking a bunch that day, and finished it off. Thus, we finished a very interesting stay in Panama, and were off to spend the night in Costa Rica, then on to Nicaragua.

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Part of trip: La Paz, Bolivia to La Paz, Mexico - Backpacking Latin America

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