Al large twenty years we have been engaged in a romance with the Hartmann family in Panama. Our famous coffees such as the Panama Birdsong, Hartmann Natural and the Mi Finquita are produced by the Hartmann family. The so-called "Hartmann Estate" stands as a house and provides space for Ratibor Hartmann and his wife Tessie to start their own project, called 'Mi Finquita'. This project is now several years underway and can be thought of as a small cooperative where Ratibor and Tessie help other farmers improve quality and sell the coffee. In this blog you can read a small piece from the coffeeTcacao magazine (www.koffietcacao.nl), for which our colleague Dennis has written. This piece is about the trip we make every year to purchase from Mi Finquita, among others.


"Singing birds, swaying banana leaves, a spectacular view, but no coffee plants. A day in Panama and not yet seen a coffee plant. Yet it doesn't feel like a miss. With a slanted eye, we look at the rental car we have to leave behind because of challenging trail conditions. Day one is immediately marked by the reunion of the Hartmann family. While hobbling, cousin Noelys tells us that she doesn't think our choice of this type of rental car is very smart. After a 25-minute drive, we arrived at a romantic log cabin with a spectacular view. I immediately saw possibilities for a bed & breakfast here and this is quickly confirmed by Tessie Hartmann. The sign ''under construction'' is not there, but it is clear to see that construction is in progress. Stumbling over the dogs, we walk upstairs, where the cupping table is waiting for us. Sipping a cup of Gesha, made by the son Of Tessie, tells she That we are now one of the first its who may admire the new project. Brew up by Tessie and Ratibor, the Mi Finquita is currently a baby coffee plant, but will soon grow into a full-fledged plant. This project is separate from their coffee plantation, the Finca Hartmann, a few kilometers away.



In 1950, the coffee plantation Finca Hartmann was founded by Ratibor Hartmann. Back then, it was a jungle without coffee plants. His goal was: not to cut down any tree or plant, but rather to use it as support and nutrition for the coffee plant. Thus was born ''shade grown bird friendly coffee''. Ratibor and Dinorah had five children: Ratibor Jr., Allan, Alexander, Aliss and Kelly. The four brothers each have their own project, which is separate from Finca Hartmann. They run Finca Hartmann together, where daughter Aliss mainly does the administrative part and receives coffee friends. We have been working with this amazing plantation full of passion for over 25 years now.

Ratibor put some coffees on the table to get us ready for the coming days. Three days that include the new crop Mi Finquita and the Panama Birdsong. A challenging search as it took first prize at the Misset Koffie Top 100 dragged in. A coffee with high expectations. Feeling satisfied, we drive back to the rental car.


Now a year and a half later, the loose project Mi Finquita also stands like a house. They have now made many buyers and roasters around the world happy with the coffee. This year is the Hartmann family working on new drying techniques. A dark room with a dehydrator allows them to control the humidity. By keeping it low, the coffee beans dry extra slowly. This keeps all the flavors better intact.

Taste already the current crop of the Panama Mi Finquita as espresso or filter with flavors such as blueberry, vinous, sweet, rum and chocolate. "

Dennis from ZalSales
and setter of the best cup of coffee 2018