For the first time, a 100-pound sack of coffee beans reached $80,300 and the beans in question are from Panama. While Panamanian coffee is a relatively new phenomenon on the global stage and produces far less than neighbors like Colombia and Costa Rica, it continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

The coffee in question, is geisha, or gesha, the varietal that mutated in Panama’s volcanic soil near Boquette in the province of Chiriqui that has suddenly become the most after in the world (read my story about it here). Specifically, it was the the Lamastus family’s Elida Estate’s Geisha Green Tip Natural that was bought by Taiwan’s Black Gold Coffee Co for $803 a pound in the Best of Panama online auction, breaking the world record. The previous record price for a pound of Geisha was $601.

The online auction lasted for six hours and included 49 lotes of the best coffee in Panama, attracting buyers from the United States, Asia, and Europe. Categories included Traditional Washed, Honey, Natural, Exotic Washed, and Natural coffees.

Maito chef Mario Castrellón, who owns roaster Café Unido and has been helping promote Panamanian coffee at the international level for years, broke the news on Instagram:

 

Yup! $803 la lb de #PANAMAGEISHA Mil felicidades a todos los productores de cafe de Panama! Siempre en vanguardia y siempre buscando mejorar! El mundo mas bonito que he conocido en mi vida. Mil felicidades @scap_panama muy merecido por el gran trabajo en equipo y eterna gracias por dejarnos ser parte de y abrirnos sus puertas con @cafeunido. @wlamastus perseverancia en la vida! Eres un modelo a seguir 😎 @lamastusfamilyestates 📸robada de @wilfordl @scepanama @simibenz 🌴🌴🌴 #sce #sce #sce @bemund

A post shared by Mario Castrellon (@mariocastrellon) on Jul 20, 2018 at 5:14am PDT