Cafeteria in SP has coffee for R$ 128 a cup; it is worth it? – 06/14/2023 – Coffee in the Press

Pato Rei coffee shop, with two units in São Paulo, launches three strained coffees of the acclaimed geisha variety, the most expensive of which will cost R$ 128.00 per cup.

It is an award-winning grain, grown in the traditional coffee region of Boquete, Panama, at an altitude of 1,650 meters, in a shaded area, surrounded by native forest. The plantation is organic and biodynamic, and the fruits are hand-picked and fermented with wild yeast.

The cafeteria will only serve 30 cups of this coffee – the servings will all be numbered. Each is about 130 ml. Drinks are available from this Wednesday (14).

Whoever pays the low price should expect a coffee with a floral aroma and notes of orange blossom honey, sour passion fruit, cantaloupe melon and coffee flower. As it cools, it reveals flavors such as soursop, green grape candy and lemon grass.

According to the partner and responsible for the Pato Rei coffees, Tiago de Mello, the green beans were purchased for US$ 600 (approximately R$ 3,000 at the current exchange rate) per kilo, and there is still a 20% loss in weight in the roasting process. .

Despite charging such a high price, the farm has no difficulty selling the beans. On the contrary, these award-winning Panamanian producers even choose who they sell to. Mello says he was only able to acquire them because he has a mutual friend with the farmer.

WHY IS IT SO EXPENSIVE?

But what explains such a high value for a coffee? And more: is it worth spending R$ 128.00 on a single cup of strained?

Geisha (or gesha) is a variety of Arabica coffee that emerged in the village of Geisha, in Ethiopia – it has, therefore, no relation to the geisha of Japanese culture.

It was in Panama, however, that this variety actually found fertile soil and achieved a quality recognized worldwide.

Today, it is one of the most valued varieties on the planet. It usually produces a very aromatic coffee, with floral notes and balanced acidity.

Therefore, it can reach very high values ​​in the specialty coffee market – it is common for them to be sold in disputed auctions.

This appreciation of the Panamanian geisha began in the early 2000s and has grown ever since.

In 2022, a microlot produced by the Lamastus Family Estates farm in Panama was sold at auction for the impressive price of US$6,034 (approximately R$30,000) per pound –or US$13,302 (about R$65,000) per pound. kilo.

Earlier this year, coffee shop Proud Mary, with locations in Australia and the United States, drew attention by charging US$150 (more than R$700.00) for a cup of coffee – a Panamanian geisha they had paid more for of US$ 4 thousand (R$ 20 thousand) a kilo.

No wonder, geisha are stamped figures in high-level competitions, such as the World Barista Championship (WBC), which annually elects the best professional in the preparation of coffees in the world, and the World Brewers Cup (WBrC), the latter focused on strained .

In fact, of the nine WBrC winners between 2011 and 2019, seven won the title by preparing coffees of the geisha variety.

EXORBITANT PRICES ARE CRITICIZED

The very high values ​​that these coffees reached have generated discussions in the field. On the one hand, the importance of remunerating producers well for exceptional beans is recognized – above all because the producers of these coffees are normally from less developed places, such as countries in Central America and Africa.

On the other hand, the fact that it is an excluding product is criticized, since few people could pay such high prices for a cup.

The defenders of these beans, however, make a parallel with the wine market: if there are such expensive bottles, accessible only to a very few connoisseurs, why shouldn’t the same apply to coffee?

Overvaluation has also generated a problem in competitions, as the prices charged by these geishas end up creating a gap between competitors who can pay dearly for such exclusive grains and those who do not have so many resources. For this reason, the creation of a spending ceiling to participate in these disputes has been considered.

Some specialists also criticize the exaggerated attention given to a single variety and say that it is necessary to analyze the whole context (handling, climate, processing) to understand the quality and price of a coffee.

Also, they say, there are varieties that produce more interesting and complex coffees than some of the very expensive geishas.

AFINAL, IS IT WORTH IT?

In any case, the well-cultivated geisha of Central America are indeed remarkable coffees and always command attention with their floral aromas and exotic flavors.

For enthusiasts who already have some knowledge of coffee tasting and can pay such high prices for a single drink, it can be an interesting experience.

For those unable or unwilling to pay BRL 128 for a cup, Pato Rei will launch two other Panamanian geishas at lower prices: BRL 88 and BRL 64 – there will only be 15 shots of each.

All three will be prepared in the Japanese Origami Acrylic Strainer, which uses a paper filter.

In the Best of Panama contest, which selects the best coffees in the country considered a geisha paradise, the Misty Mountain farm, owned by Longboard Specialty Coffee, came fourth in the washed geisha category. It is exactly from this farm that the beans that Pato Rei will serve for R$ 128 come from.

The other two are from Janson Coffee, a producer that won fifth place in the washed geisha category and third place in the natural geisha category of the same award.

The three coffees will be available at the two Pato Rei units – one in Pinheiros and the other in Berrini–, as well as the other beans that the coffee shop already serves regularly.

Among the other coffees is the so-called “espresso mais que deuso”, which has notes of grapes, apple and a lot of sweetness. It was with this coffee that barista Taina Luna participated in the Brazilian Barista Championship – she was eliminated for running out of time, but the coffee had received one of the highest marks. The great espresso costs BRL 64, but can be extracted in two cups of 28 ml each.

KING DUCK

Pinheiros Unit

Address: R. Ferreira de Araújo, 353

Hours: Tue. on Fri., from 12h to 21h; Sat & Sun, 9am to 7pm

Phone: (11) 3816-7979

Berrini Unit

Address: Av. Engineer Luís Carlos Berrini, 1,127

Hours: Tue. on Fri., from 8 am to 5 pm; Sat. and Sun., from 9 am to 6 pm

Tel: (11) 25284254

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