🇵🇦Panama

The Peterson family

The Peterson family are world-renowned coffee producers based in Boquete, Panama, who operate the legendary Hacienda La Esmeralda estate. They are widely credited with putting Panamanian Geisha coffee on the global specialty map after its introduction to the international market in 2004. The family continues to lead the industry, recently achieving historic, record-breaking scores at the 2025 Best of Panama competition.

Farm: Hacienda La Esmeralda →

TagsThe Peterson family Hacienda La Esmeralda Panama Geisha

History

While coffee had been grown on the land since 1890, the Petersons began focusing on coffee production in the mid-1980s to diversify their dairy operations. In 1997, they expanded their holdings by purchasing the Jaramillo farm, where they planted Geisha trees in an attempt to combat the fungus Mycena citricolor. This decision led to the 2004 Best of Panama competition, where their Geisha lot stunned the industry and secured the highest price ever paid for coffee at auction at that time.

The farmer's day, in pictures

Editorial illustrations of the harvest and farm work our research documented — anonymous figures, never real likenesses.