Café Unido

Overview

Café Unido opened its first Panama City location in 2014, founded by chef Mario Castrellón of Maito (Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants), Benito 'Beni' Bermúdez (head roaster), and Feres Yebaile. The premise was simple: Panama exported nearly all of its world-record Geisha coffee, and the country itself had nowhere to drink it. Unido sources from six to fifteen Panamanian farms across Boquete and Volcán — including Hacienda La Esmeralda (the farm that put Panama Geisha on the map at the 2004 Best of Panama auction), Don Pachi Estate, El Burro, Elida (Panama's highest farm), Eleta, and Carmen — and is the country's largest specialty roaster and largest Geisha buyer. Seven cafés in Panama, plus Washington D.C. expansions at La Cosecha and Shaw featuring a Coffee Omakase tasting menu.

Known for

• Panama's largest specialty coffee roaster and largest single-buyer of Panamanian Geisha
• Direct-trade exclusively with Panamanian farms — Esmeralda, Don Pachi, El Burro, Elida, Eleta, Carmen, others
• Pays at least triple the commodity price (~$1.25/lb) to producers, often far more for Geisha lots
• Coffee Omakase — 4-course coffee tasting menu (~$45) at the D.C. Shaw location, pioneered as 'omakase for coffee'
• Co-founder Mario Castrellón runs Maito (Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants); cascara ketchup and coffee-spiced burgers across the menu

Why it matters

Café Unido inverted the Panama coffee equation. For decades the country grew the most expensive coffee in the world (Geisha lots have hit $350+/lb at auction) and exported all of it. Unido kept it home — built a Panamanian coffee culture in the country that grew the coffee, then took that culture to D.C. Their Geisha-focused omakase format is the first of its kind globally.

Production

destoning

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head roaster

Benito Bermúdez (Panama, founder); Francisco Flores (D.C.)

color sorting

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roaster machine

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filter equipment

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cupping frequency

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roastery location

Panama City (primary); Unido Roastery DC at 901 V St NW, Washington D.C. (former Dolcezza space)

espresso equipment

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annual volume tonnes

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Café

American Trade Hotel, Plaza Herrera, Casco Viejo, Panama City (flagship); plus Coco del Mar, MMG Tower (Costa del Este), Multiplaza Mall, others; D.C.: La Cosecha (Union Market) + 901 V St NW (Shaw)

Recognitions

• Mario Castrellón — Maito on Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants list (multiple years)

Sources

• https://cafeunido.com/english_usa/panama-coffee
• https://www.thewaytocoffee.com/cafeunido/
• https://eleta.org/cafe-unido-opens-its-second-international-coffee-shop-2/
• https://www.popville.com/2021/04/panama-coffee-cafe-unido/
• https://www.newworlder.com/in-search-of-cafe-geisha-in-panama/
• https://dcist.com/story/22/12/21/first-look-cafe-unido-panama-coffee-tasting-menu-shaw/
• https://www.washingtonian.com/2021/04/09/cafe-unido-is-opening-a-new-roastery-with-coffee-burgers-and-fermented-brews/