Posted by Scott Lush - Do you prefer whole bean Ethiopian Organic Sidamo light roast, or Candy Cane Flavored Decaf ground? To purists, they're at opposite ends of the spectrum. The Ethiopian Organic Sidamo should brew a classic cup with floral aromatics and essenses of citrus, berry, and nut. It's brewed light in order to preserve the origin character of an Ethiopian Sidamo. Maybe it's dry processed to add some earthiness and wildness to the cup to complement the other flavors. It drives like a Lexus. The Candy Cane flavored coffee ought to taste like...well...something hanging on a branch of the Christmas tree next to the flashing lights. It drives like a Mini Cooper S. Ethiopian Organic Sidamo appeals to experienced drinkers with a catalog of coffee tastes in their mind, Candy Cane decaf appeals to everyone ages 10 and up!
Backstory: This is the reason that purists raved over and gave awards to the Panama Hacienda Esmeraldo Gesha Varietal. It gave them the unexpected flavor of a classic Ethiopian coffee from Central America. It's what an Ethipian Gesha coffee plant tastes like when it's grown in Central American soil. It's like Opera fans seeing a new interpretation of the Barbier of Seville. To most everybody else, it has all the appeal of....opera. Or it's like Miles Davis fans finding a lost studio recording from the 1960s. To everyone else, it just sounds like Jazz. But to the purist, it's nirvana.
A lot of coffee purists say that coffee should be purchased whole bean, single origin, and ground in small quantities for each brew. On the other hand, everyday coffee drinkers purchase blends and flavored coffee, ground for convenience. One is brewing coffee to build up their catalog of knowledge and experience, the other is trying to get in the car by 6am to drive to the office.
Some terrific roasters on our site appeal to the coffee cognoscenti and have never carried flavored coffee, like Ecco Caffe, Chazzano Coffee and Kickapoo. Other terrific roasters carry flavored coffee in more flavors than Baskin and Robbins like Latitude 32.5 Roasters, Higher Ground and IronBrew.
Can both kinds of coffees exist on the same website? I've sampled hundreds of coffees and have an opinion.
I love both single-origin gourmet coffee and flavored ones. It's wonderful to listen to John Coltrane jazz with audiophile headphones, and then other times I like to crank up some Britney Spears from my car radio. It would be fun to drive a Lexus (if I had one!) with burled wood interior but also nice to hug the curves with a Mini Cooper S-series. It's nice to drink a rare Bordeaux wine but other times I like 3-Buck Chuck wine from Trader Joe's.
Flavored coffees allow a variety of flavors not available naturally in coffee of course, including Hazelnut, Banana Creme, Irish Coffee, and Kona Coconut. The more I try single-origins the more I love variety in my coffee and new tastes. How can you resist flavors like that!
Editor's Comment: Pardon me for pointing out the glaring error in the article - it's Hacienda La Esmeralda. "Esmeraldo?" Obviously, the author has a clue... Stick to the candy canes, they're sticky anyway.
For all of those people who have never tried sushi because they don’t like the taste of raw fish, you’re in luck. Veneto’s Sushi Lounge, known as one of Panama City’s top sushi bars has a new special, with a local taste, no seafood included! The Sushi Lounge is proud to announce 3 new Panamanian style sushi rolls, with a twist of local flavors! Imagine having chicken and plantain, skirt steak, or chorizo and chopped pork all with local herbs and spices, mixed and rolled for your delight.
With the start of Lent, Panamanians are stocking up on their supplies of fish and seafood. From very early in the morning, many shoppers will head out to buy Sea Bass and Corvina, the favorite fish in the Panamanian diet. Prices have remained relatively stable, thanks to monitoring that is in place by the Consumer Protection Authority since 12 February 2010. Medium sized Red Snapper can be had for $2.00 per pound. Small Corvina are about $1.75 per pound. In addition, Sierra and Cojinua are at $1.25 per pound. In the case of other seafood, a pound of shrimp can cost up to $4.50, red shrimp are at about $4.00 per pound. Shrimp prices are inflated thanks to a fishing ban that will remain in place until 11 April 2010. It is expected that the price of seafood could increase with the approach of Easter. (Source: Telemetro)
The sale of the traditional meat and sausages on a stick - always a favorite of street vendors during Carnival - is causing a controversy in Chitre and Penonomé after government authorities in those cities announced restrictions against those to engage in this business. In Chitre, the Carnival Board decided to ban the sale of these products, because they think the sticks might be used as stabbing weapons by criminals. Meanwhile, health authorities in Coclé announced they will be vigilant of these vendors, because there have been cases where sticks that have been discarded by customers have been reused by the vendors, putting the public health at risk. Those who are caught in this unhealthy practice will be shut down and assigned fines and penalties of between $5,000 to $10,000 dollars, officials warned. (Source: El Siglo)
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By DON WINNER for 
