Changes in Latitude

James Bond is returning to Latin America. Thanks to Cynthia Mulder in Panama for breaking this news from one of the film sites. If you recall many of the film series’ locations over the years, you’ll easily recall the common denominator – fantastic scenery. So it is not surprising to learn that we’ve already treated our clients to every locale in Bond’s upcoming film, “Quantum of Solace” filmed in 2008.

The following excerpts are from Nadia Martinez, a native of Panama and an associate fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. Ms. Martinez recently became a U.S. citizen and wrote about “Respecting Our Neighbors to the South” in Yes! Magazine, Summer 2008.

Modern Panama City, home to 8 of Latin America´s 10 tallest skyscapers, is actually the third city. Casco Antigua is the 2nd Panama City, and my personal favorite. It is an architectual wonder. Pictured here is the plaza inside the governor´s palace. The 1st city was sacked by Henry Morgan. This story is told in the great pirate book entitled ¨The Sack of Panama”. The original city site, Panama Viejo, had been founded in 1519 and abandoned in favor of a more defensible site, now called Casco Antigua, in 1673. You can and should visit both. Casco Antigua provides a stark contrast as you walk many blocks of magnificent old edificios while gazing across the bay at the modern steel and glass skyscape. Here you will find cobblestone and brick streets, wonderful museums, cafes, art galleries, gift shops, and many artisans displaying their work. I recommend you save at least a half day to stroll the streets of Casco Antigua … or several half-days, if you have the time. I am returning this evening to enjoy the sunset.

Coffee from Panama has won the international cupping contest during seven of the last 11 years. Three times the winner was Cafe Ruiz, which we toured today. The other two winners are Cafe Lerida & Cafe Geisha. These small-scale family farms choose the environmentally friendly, shade grown technique. Coffee is grown beneath fruit and native hardwood trees. In this picture from Cafe Ruiz you see a hummingbird nest in the coffee tree.

Cafe Ruiz is located in the Boquete valley, pictured below. Boquete is situated in the rainforest of the fertile western highlands of Panama. Here the cloud forest´s abundant moisture and the volcanic soil combine with ideal growing conditions to produce some of the world´s best coffee. Panama is at the same latitude as Ethiopia which is home to the Arabica tree, the oldest and best tasting species of coffee in the world.

Coffee is harvested by hand in Boquete, from October through March. There is amazing attention to quality through the following 12-step process, according to our guide Israel of Casa Ruiz:

1. Selection by hand of only ripe beans.
2. Sorting by density with water. Beans that float indicate damage from insects, fungus, or sunlight, so only the beans that sink are utilized. Floaters are sold to other companies which put their brand on the coffee – Cafe Ruiz will not.
3. Pulping to remove the liquid that would lead to over fermentation.
4. Fermentation
5. Washing
6. Drying
7. Resting to age the beans for 4 months to allow for detection of defects that passed through the processes above.
8. Peeling off the parchment.
9. Sorting by size (there are 13 sizes), density by air (weight), and color. Only the green beans go forward. Yellow indicates the bean was picked too soon, black too late, and blue or red indicate fungus.
10. The good sizes are mixed back together.
11. Batch roasting to allow for selection by taste.
12. Final grading

There are three grades:

Specialty – for export. This grade constitutes 80% of the yield of Casa Ruiz farms. There are 11 major farms and many other small, family farms which bring their beans to Casa Ruiz for processing.

Premium – This grade receives all the processing above, except for color processing, and is not exported.

Standard – This grade is also for the domestic market.

The most award-winning farm in the Casa Ruiz enterprise is La Berlina, which sells for $25 – $50 per pound, at the farm, depending on the yield in any given year. It consistently places in French, USA, and Panamanian cupping competitions. I bought some of this for my friend Seth, who is a coffee aficionado, and will post his remarks soon.

Cafe Geisha has sold for up to $130 per pound, at the farm. Sorry Seth, I can´t afford it!

Cafe Ruiz doesn´t export roasted coffee, but they do roast. We saw the company´s first roaster – a bowl that was placed in a fire, their first roasting machine, from France, and every machine they have used since then. Five roasts are observed. Approximate times follow:

1. Gourmet – 13 minutes
2. European – 14 minutes
3. Latin – 15 minutes
4. Italian – 18 minutes
5. French – 20 minutes, at which point the beans lose all subtle flavors and become like Starbuck´s beans – burnt.

We had the pleasure of meeting Plinio Ruiz, son of the 85-year old Plinio Ruiz who was the 2nd generation of coffee growers behind his father who homesteaded in Boquete in the 1890´s.

Join us in October and we´ll tour the fields, processing plants, roasting room, and cafe!

To buy coffee from C. America in the USA, roasted by my friend Seth the same day he ships it to you, visit http://www.uniquecoffee.com/ (Seth stocks Cafe Ruiz when available.)

Parque Amistad straddles the Costa Rican/Panamanian border and features rainforested highlands with 2-mile high peaks.   The climate is perfect year-round.  Cleaner water and air can not be found on Earth.

Amazingly, you can boat all the way from Panama´s Bocas del Toro up the Rio Changuinola and connect to the Rio Teribe to reach the rainforest by water.  This is the home of the Naso Kingdom, the last kingdom in Latin America.  The Naso bring sustainable agriculture to new heights. Each family farms what it needs and there are also communal farms. Here a raft carries extra produce for sale to Caribbean communities down river.

A journey into a Naso home brings shared stories, songs, dances, and food. Pure happiness and pride is evident in the absence of machines. The rainforest provides the Naso everything needed to sustain a good life. The Naso political system is a model with much to offer to the world. This is an excellent destination for children to compare and contrast the simple life with the technological life. Mine were inspired, not to give up their computers, but to view their importance in a different context.

Updates:

• 2010 – We explore some of the Naso’s neighbors near La Amistad in the post Talamanca Indigenous
• 2011 – After five years in and out of La Amistad, we’re collaborating with the Organization for the Development of Sustainable Eco-tourism for the Naso (ODESEN).  Visit Big River Foundation for details on an exciting new Watershed Ecology Program.

One of the highlights of Panama´s Bocas del Toro is snorkeling in the coral forest in the National Marine Reserve. There is also an interpretive trail hike into the island, lunch hanging over the Caribbean, and a long boat ride through the many islands that make up the archipelago. The beach at our snorkeling site was as perfect as any I´ve found. – Mango Steve