There’s a new world’s most expensive coffee. In a private auction, the renowned Lamastus family smashed the world record for most expensive coffee, with a winning bid north of $6,000 per pound.
Hosted by auction house Sensible Coffee, the Lamastus private auction took place Tuesday, September 6th, bringing a total of 24 lots produced on their three estates: Elida, El Burro, and Luito. All Geshas, the 1,762 total pounds of coffee netted $601,000 with an average price of $341.24, per the Lamastus Family Estates. But the star of the show was a Gesha Aguacatillo from the Elida Estates, with a winning bid of $6,034 per pound.
Auction host Sensible Coffee, who will be holding the Best of Panama auction next month, said of the record-breaking coffee, “In an auction that lasted over 7 hours, we saw the record for the most expensive lot in coffee auction history broken! It’s moments like this that evident the important role and impact auctions have within the Specialty Coffee market 🏆. Providing a system that connects farmers and producers with buyers internationally and rewarding them with a fair price for their coffee 🌍.”
Grown well above 2,000 MASL inside a national park—the highest point of the Elida Estate—only seven total pounds of the honey processed Aguacatillo were produced. The seven-pound lot was purchased for a sum total $42,238 by a team of bidders representing Oklao Specialty Coffee, Clay Coffee Collective, The Espresso Lab, and Black Gold Specialty Coffee.
In an Instagram post recapping the private auction, the Lamastus Family Estates stated, “We are extremely thankful with everyone involved in the auction, and everyone in the industry that are all part of this huge milestones. The most important part, is the brand value for Panama geisha that rises with this achievements.”
The new world recording-holding unscored coffee over doubles the price fetched by the previous record holder, a 94.75 point natural fermented Gesha produced by Finca Nuguo in Panama, coming in at $2,568 per pound for the 100-pound lot at the 2021 Best of Panama auction.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
