I have so many great memories and images.

So I'm happy to tell you about this coffee farmer and farmer's wife.

Ratibor and Tessie of Finca Hartmann are a couple and have just won first prize in "the Best of Panama" of the Geisha Natural. For years they seemed to keep a little distance from the coffee competitions. They are incredibly humble, introverted and very hardworking people.

Our family got to know them over 25 years ago when my brother Willem and I started importing Panamaria coffee. Willem visited their farm, roasted with Ratibor and tasted the different coffee lots together. From then on, we started importing coffee from them. It clicked completely. Ratibor and Tessie are incredibly eager to learn and experiment. They strive for more exquisite results every time....

Since 1995, they and the whole family have gone through a huge coffee development. They started with three varieties of Arabica and today there are more than 80 at different coffee farms.

Ratibor and Tessie are very involved with nature. When you take the first step on their coffee farms and hear the sounds of the animals and the forest at the Ojo de Aqua spring, you experience their philosophy. I have been there five times since the year 2000 and each time it feels like stepping into another world: hushed, natural and full of hundreds of different species of birds. Those colors of the plantation and the sounds of the forest are also reflected in their different coffees. Like the Panama Birdsong, the Maragogype natural and soon the Panama Hartmann Geisha washed.

AND how welcome we are from 'the Boats', it feels so wonderful!!!

I remember my discovery on the tasting table of the natural, during the cuppings in 2012. (This coffee is the precursor to the Panama Mi Finquita natural now). Ratibor saw my discovery in my face during cupping and smiled proudly inside.

The coffee is grown in the shade of native rainforest trees that have been there for years. The Hartmanns try not to cut down trees. They replant native trees to preserve the natural cycle. With the goal of sustainable coffee production. No pesticides are used.

Growing extreme quality coffee sustainably while respecting the fauna of the rainforest is their motto.

In 2018 we celebrated (more than) 20 years of cooperation in our store in Baarn. There Ratibor told his philosophy and at that moment I got goose bumps and tears of emotion. How beautiful that we can share our passion together.

HAPPINESS THROUGH TASTE,