Alberto Sitton Rios acquired his family farm in the mountains of Bambito, Chiriqui Province, Panama from his father in 1945. The farm was Alberto's passion, and he wanted to continue the family tradition. Today, the farm is still a family business, now in its fourth and fifth generations, with Priscilla as the producer.
The coffee plantation is located at an altitude between 1,660 and 1,800 meters, between two national forest parks. It is crossed by two mountain ridges from east to west, which creates two natural microclimates. These ridges protect the coffee trees from the summer's north winds. The farm also has two water springs, which are the main sources of water for the wet mill. Bambito has its own greenhouse and cupping room. The greenhouse is used to preserve coffee tree genetics and maintain a young plantation. The coffee process byproducts such as the pulp (skin) are used as a source of organic fertilizer. The cupping room is used for quality control. Much of what makes Bambito Estates one of the best coffee producers in Panama is its near-perfect climate for coffee cultivation.
From Bambito:
"Our production is very small. We pay very strict attention to the harvesting process. Only expert pickers harvest our geisha plantations, permanent workers that have been on the farm for many years. Our lots No. 4 and No. 5 are Geisha; any other Geisha tree in the other lots is marked with a red ribbon," says Priscilla.
"We give harvesters weekly seminars about the picking process and the color of the correct bean to be harvested, Brix grades are taken randomly during the day. We even have a weekly reward for the best picker. Even though Bambito Estate is a small farm, we do our best to be an example for other farms. We recycle, we have a Summer school for our worker's children, and we sponsor our local primary school with breakfast all year around, to name a few things. Every Friday, we have our plantation Foreman talking about different subjects of interest. We are a small team, but I feel very blessed and grateful for each one of them."
