Melbourne is well known for taking its coffee extremely seriously, but there’s one roaster in the Victorian capital that’s taking things to the next level with one of the priciest cups of boiling bean water on the planet. The Collingwood-based cafe and coffee roaster Proud Mary is serving up a rare Panamanian coffee that costs an eye-wateringly expensive $200 a cup, which is enough to put any triple-shot almond latte to shame.
The coffee in question is the Panama Geisha Black Jaguar, hailing from the Finca Hartmann farm that grows its plantation under the canopy of virgin rainforest 1,800 metres above sea level. Proud Mary has enjoyed a close relationship with the Hartmann family that owns the farm, which is exclusively planted with Geisha coffee that originally comes from the Gesha region of Ethiopia and has been grown in Panama for more than 50 years.
With prices for the valuable beans reaching $2,907 for 453 grams (US$2,000 per pound), Proud Mary founder Nolan Hirte was able to purchase a small amount of the coffee that’s enough to make just 25 cups, which is prepared using the pour-over method. Despite its high price, the cafe expects it to sell out before the end of the month.
