Boquete is coffee country, but as you look around and scan the hillsides, all you see are shady trees, particularly oranges. If it is a coffee farm, you'll see tall shrubs below and around the trees...coffee.
Here is Randy and Jamies house, surrounded by lush fruit trees (banana, orange, lemon, avocado) and tons of coffee...
We got a first hand tour and education today from Randy about the whole process from growing to bagging. The coffee here is Arabica and Randy has a blend of four types. He harvests from November to February, and he only picks them when they turn purple.
They are then sun-dried and he stores them in large burlap bags for up to 7 months. At different stages, he takes them out, puts them thru a separater, then roasts them. The formula he uses for roasting is an exact science, making all the difference in a great or not-so-great coffee. He receives this formula from professional "cuppers", who he pays every year to come out and rate the coffee.
Here's Randy happily explaining his passion...
As true coffee connoisseurs in Boquete will point out, dark roasts are often used to mask low-quatity coffee. Gourmet coffees tend to get a lighter roast, allowing as they say here is Boquete, to "taste the coffee, not the roast".
