Panama is pouring the best cup of coffee on earth and inviting you to come try it in person.

Michael Janson isn’t in a hurry.

But that new pace seems to fit him just fine.

Chiriqui Highlands, coffee growers and local culture of Panama

Credit: Stacey Leasca

“To have all the flavors and the variety, you have to know the land.”

And know the land he does.

According toPerfect Daily Grind, Panamanians are serious about how much coffee they drink.

Chiriqui Highlands, coffee growers and local culture of Panama

Stacey Leasca

This works out to about two kilograms per capita more than other coffee-producing nations like Brazil and Colombia.

Though Panamanians drink a lot of coffee, they don’t grow much of their own.

In comparison, Panama produces just 13 million pounds.

Chiriqui Highlands, coffee growers and local culture of Panama

Stacey Leasca

“It takes a lot of know-how,” Janson says of the Geisha bean.

“We have an agriculture engineer just for this plant.”

For the uninitiated, Geisha coffee is a bean originating from the Gori Gesha forest in Ethiopia.

Chiriqui Highlands, coffee growers and local culture of Panama

Stacey Leasca

It sold out of the bean within weeks.

The flavors, though, must be driven by either fruit, tea, and/or florals."

So, what does this varietal taste like anyway?

Chiriqui Highlands, coffee growers and local culture of Panama

Stacey Leasca

Upon hitting the tongue, the taste was more reminiscent of tea than coffee.

“And you better know what you’re doing.”

“The reason the coffee is so expensive is because these farmers are doing all these things right.

Chiriqui Highlands, coffee growers and local culture of Panama

Stacey Leasca

“My father dreamed that one day his whole family would come back and live on the farm.

We have fulfilled my father’s wish.”

For more information on the Coffee Circuit and other activities in the region, check outVisit Panama’s website.

Chiriqui Highlands, coffee growers and local culture of Panama

Stacey Leasca

Chiriqui Highlands, coffee growers and local culture of Panama

Stacey Leasca