Only when sitting down to write this update did I realise how quickly the last year has passed.
Looking back through my notes, it almost feels unreal how many moments fit into such a short space of time.
Over the past twelve months we have travelled across Europe for cuppings, festivals and competitions, meeting new roasters, reconnecting with long-standing partners, and sharing coffees that continue to surprise us.
Some of those moments include:
- Nordic Coffee Festival – Gothenburg
- London Coffee Festival – Cup the World
- World of Coffee – Geneva
- Bristol Coffee Festival
- Caffè Culture
- HOSTMilano
- MY Coffee Awards – Barcelona
- Danish Coffee Festival
Alongside these were smaller but equally meaningful moments:
Cuppings with FCP, Calico, Feri., Sanremo, Greytone and Scenery, as well as sponsoring Monserrat Cornet at Spain’s barista national competition.
It is only when writing this down that the pace of the year becomes clear. Many weeks seemed to disappear almost as quickly as they began. Travel, events and conversations followed one another so rapidly that there was often little time to pause and reflect.
At times it felt like time itself was moving faster than we could keep up with.
Yet within that pace something important was happening.
Over the past year we have made significant strides in introducing our coffees to new buyers — from established roasters across the UK and continental Europe to competitors and passionate coffee enthusiasts. The growth has been remarkable, but more important than growth itself has been the deepening of our relationships.
Through countless conversations with our farm partners we have developed a clearer understanding of the coffees we source: when they are ready, what defines their character, and how the decisions made during harvest ultimately shape what we cup months later.
This has been strengthened by the presence of someone local in the Chiriquí coffee region who cups at farm during harvest and shares the nuances of daily developments as they unfold. That proximity to origin has allowed us to follow coffees much more closely as they move through time — from cherry to cup.
In hindsight, the year seems to have passed in a flash. But when viewed more carefully, it is made up of many distinct moments: meeting new customers, cupping exceptional Panamanian coffees in Europe, and learning more deeply about the everyday work happening at farm.
Coffee, however, moves at a very different pace.
And now, after a year that seemed to move so quickly, we find ourselves returning to where that journey begins.
Today we are back at origin.
We begin in Tierras Altas, where over the coming days we will visit farms, cup new harvest coffees and reconnect with the producers who make all of this possible.
A new harvest always represents a very particular moment in time. The coffees are still fresh from the season, the results of months of careful work in the field and at the mill. Each lot reflects a combination of conditions — climate, elevation, processing — that can never be replicated in exactly the same way again.
Our intention over the coming days is simple: to slow down and capture that moment.
To cup, select and understand the coffees that best represent this harvest — coffees whose character is shaped by both time and terroir.
Throughout this origin trip we will share daily updates as we reconnect with Panama — with the region, the people, and the relationships that continue to shape our work.
— Jaime