El Jardin Del Cafe is a small coffee plantation that sits at an altitude of 4060 ft just outside the mountain town of Boquete on the slopes of Volcan Baru in Northern Panama. 

We grow our coffee, which consists of mainly Catuai and Typica varietals, in a garden of many beautiful fruit trees and flowers.  We also have a small amount of Pacamara and Caturra.  Our guiding principals are first and foremost to care for our coffee plants as a garden.  Taking care of each plant on an individual basis in the context of its particular position and companion plantings.

Our coffee garden is located in the green part of the Boquete Valley.  We have deep rich black volcanic soil and have the Bahareque (light mist like) rains even during the dry season.  We are also in a cool river valley.  These factors combine to make give the coffee cooler and larger night and day temperature fluctuations than other farms at similar elevations.

We work with nature to create something beautiful in its natural simplicity.  Our coffee garden represents an organic art form.   We do not use herbicides or pesticides on our coffee and we plant under relatively heavy and diverse shade to provide habitat for birds and wildlife of the rain forest.  We have also one of the very few farms that have stopped using chemical fungicides.  We combat fungal problems with a combination of renewing plants to make sure they are young and vigorous to begin with, then treat them with a natural mixture of good bacteria.  

We have the honor to grow coffee in an area of ancient Indigenous civilization.  For thousands of years the Indigenous have recognized the unique growing conditions present in the small area of El Jardin Del Cafe.   The thick black volcanic soils, light bahareque rains, abundant water and sheltered position.     Our coffee garden contains remnants of this past engraved on ancient river rocks.

We have traditionally sold our coffee as cherries to the benefices in the local area as most farms do.   In this way our coffee is mixed with hundreds of other farms and sold into blends.   This way of selling and mixing coffee does not lend itself to high quality and leaves the small farms barely profitable. 

This year we have decided to take our best, peak harvest coffee, direct to market.  We pay above average wages and work in harmony with nature and with respect for the cultures that have shaped the history of the land.  We think coffee enthusiasts want to drink coffee like ours and support small farms that are focused on ever improving quality.

The blog is designed to keep you in touch with our life here on the farm.   We believe that total transparency is much better than any stamp or label that is supposed to indicate fair working practices, organic or even bird friendly coffee.   As most of us know, box checking is relatively easy to do, especially for large organizations with access to resources.  There really is no substitute for knowing exactly what happens.  

Here shade grown is shade grown.  We grow fruit, feed birds and plant trees to encourage birds.  We have rules that stop our workers from eating the indigenous wildlife.  We also live on the farm and so have an added interest in not only being organic by the book, but creating a safe and chemical free environment.  We encourage you to read our blog and get to know us.  Send us questions and be part of our family.

We believe we are pioneers for the way that good coffee will be sold in the future.   As insiders would say - the Fourth Wave.  We want to sell directly to our coffee drinkers.  We want our coffee drinkers to know who we are, how we grow coffee and exactly what is in the cup.

We think that the way we grow and harvest our coffee brings an elegant and beautiful integrity to the ritual of coffee drinking that coffee enthusiasts will appreciate.

Coffee tours run daily at 9 am and 2 pm.
Minimum 2 persons.