Panama Moves to Trademark 'Panama Geisha' as $30,000-Per-Kilo Auctions Draw Counterfeiters

When a single coffee lot sells for $30,204 per kilogram — more than twice the price of silver — counterfeiters take notice. Panama’s Specialty Coffee Association (SCAP) is betting that a trademark can protect what volcanic soil and decades of careful cultivation created.

In September 2025, SCAP filed trademark applications in the United States and United Kingdom for a figurative logo bearing the “Panama Geisha” name. The association had already secured registrations in the European Union and Japan in 2022, but record-breaking auction prices at last year’s Best of Panama competition accelerated the global push.

The $30,000 Cup

The August 2025 Best of Panama auction shattered records. A 20-kilogram lot of washed Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda — scoring an exceptional 98 points — sold to Julith Coffee & Roastery in Dubai for $604,080. That works out to $30,204 per kilo, or roughly $13,700 per pound.

The lot wasn’t an anomaly. Of the 50 coffees auctioned, 40 were Geisha varieties. The event generated $2.8 million in total sales.

Compare that to 2017, when the top lot fetched $601 per pound and total auction revenue hit $368,711. In seven years, premium lot prices increased by more than 2,200 percent.

Why Trademark Now

SCAP president Ricardo Koyner — a third-generation producer whose family owns Café Kotowa in Boquete — says the trademark aims to protect authenticity at a moment when fakes are multiplying.

“We pursued this trademark to protect the authenticity, identity, and origin-linked value of a product that Panama has uniquely developed over decades,” Koyner explains. The country’s volcanic soils, high altitudes, and diverse microclimates create conditions other origins cannot replicate.

The counterfeiting problem mirrors what happened to Hawaiian Kona and Jamaica Blue Mountain coffees, both of which have struggled with mislabeled products diluting their brands. As Panama Geisha prices climbed into the five-figure range, SCAP saw the same pattern emerging: coffees marketed as “Panama Geisha” without any connection to Panamanian farms.

The Logo Approach

Rather than pursuing a geographical indication (GI) — a more comprehensive but legally complex form of protection — SCAP registered a figurative mark: a stylized logo rather than the words alone.

This matters for two reasons. First, terms like “Panama” and “Geisha” are arguably descriptive or geographical, making them harder to register as standalone trademarks. A logo sidesteps that challenge.

Second, logos can function as quality seals. Only SCAP members who participate in the Best of Panama auction can use the trademark. Membership costs $1,000 per year.

The Access Question

Here’s where it gets complicated. Panama has approximately 8,287 coffee producers. SCAP has 89-plus members. That leaves more than 8,000 farmers unable to use the trademark, even if their Geisha lots rival the auction winners.

Gissell Garrido, a SCAP member and producer, has pushed for broader protections. “There should be a protection for Gesha from Panama, and it should be available to any Panamanian producer,” she argues.

The tension reflects a deeper question: does origin protection serve the region or the association? A geographical indication — like Champagne or Parmigiano-Reggiano — would cover all qualifying producers regardless of membership. But GIs take years to establish and require government involvement.

SCAP’s trademark is quicker and simpler, but it creates a two-tier system: Best of Panama participants with the seal, and everyone else without it.

The Spelling Debate

Then there’s the name itself. Ethiopian botanists and the 1930s field notes where the variety was first documented use “Gesha,” after the town in southwestern Ethiopia where the plants were discovered. “Geisha” gained traction in Panama, where the variety achieved its commercial breakthrough.

Some producers and roasters argue that “Geisha” — which evokes Japanese entertainers rather than Ethiopian geography — represents a kind of marketing exoticism. Others, including SCAP, note that “Geisha” has over 80 years of continuous usage in agricultural and scientific contexts.

The trademark applications use “Geisha.” The debate continues.

Why This Matters

For consumers, the trademark should eventually mean something. A coffee bearing SCAP’s logo comes from a verified Panamanian source, produced by a farmer who submitted to the Best of Panama’s rigorous judging process.

For the specialty coffee industry, Panama’s approach is a test case. If the trademark succeeds in reducing counterfeits without excluding legitimate producers, other origins may follow. Colombia, Ethiopia, and Kenya all produce distinctive coffees vulnerable to the same mislabeling problems.

For now, Panama’s Geisha remains the world’s most expensive coffee variety. Whether a trademark can protect that value — and for whom — will become clearer in the auctions ahead.