Hacienda Barbara Espresso

About the Coffee

Hacienda Barbara sits in Boquete, Panama, one of the country's most recognized coffee-growing regions. The farm is run by Hunter Tedman and Linda Arauz, who have entered the Best of Panama competition since 2016 and placed near the top repeatedly. Boquete's volcanic soils and elevation give producers here a strong foundation to work with, and Hacienda Barbara has made the most of it over the past decade.

The coffee is a Catuai variety, a hybrid developed in Brazil in the 1940s that has since proven itself across Latin America for its resilience and consistent output. Tedman and Arauz process it using a washed method, which means the coffee cherry is removed and the beans are fermented and washed in water before drying. This approach tends to highlight clarity in the cup and is harder to execute well than natural processing, since there is less room to mask unevenness in the harvest.

Panama is most associated with Gesha, the variety that commands auction prices that make headlines. But farms like Hacienda Barbara have quietly built reputations around traditional varieties grown with care. The consistency Tedman and Arauz have shown at Best of Panama is a sign of what comes from focusing on the farming and processing fundamentals year after year rather than chasing novelty.

About Monogram

Monogram was started in Calgary by three friends named Ben, Justin, and Jeremy, who met while working together as baristas. They came from different backgrounds, music, health sciences, and development, but shared an interest in specialty coffee. Their first setup was a hand-built coffee cart. Their first permanent cafe opened in the Altadore neighbourhood in 2014.

Ben Put, one of the founding team, has won the Canadian Barista Championship seven times and placed third at the 2025 World Barista Championship. That competitive focus shapes how Monogram approaches sourcing. They maintain long-term relationships with producers, including the Lamastus family at Elida Estate in Panama, which is how coffees like this one from Hacienda Barbara make it into their lineup.