Gourmet coffee is a beautiful thing, whether it’s in the bag, being round in your kitchen, added to a coffee maker or being sipped from your favorite cup. There’s just something lovely about gourmet coffee.

These photos of rows and rows of beautiful coffee were taken in our local supermarket. They were both taken from the same spot and should be in one panoramic photo.

The sight of all this coffee is awe-inspiring, with each bag standing out like an art masterpiece.  See how each of our local growers design their bags to be distinctive, colorful and appealing.

If I were an artist, I’d paint a picture of these shelves, or maybe I’d concentrate on only the orange bags, or maybe the bags with paintings of Guaymi Indians picking coffee beans, wearing their bright-colored, artfully-handmade appliqued dresses.

Living in Boquete, Panama brings out the artistic talents in many people, not just me.  The coffee grown here seems to have qualities other gourmet coffees don’t have.

I think that folks who lovingly plant, harvest, process and market coffee in Boquete are “artistic” types.  They are bringing out the beauty of their product, knowing how important it is to produce a “work of art” with every bag, not just the finest coffee possible, but the most “artistic” coffee in the world.

Does living among the coffee bushes, smelling the fragrant blossoms, and watching the green beans turn to red in the warm sunshine of Boquete give residents a special appreciation of fine coffee that very few others understand?  I believe it does.

Yes, there are “coffee lovers” who buy everything relating to coffee, “coffee fanatics” who use only the finest coffee maker to brew their java, and “coffee gurus” who can foresee how this year’s crop, or even a particular bean will taste.  And then, there are folks like me, who just can’t get enough of the aroma and fine taste of a real delicious, full-bodied and “artsy” cup of gourmet coffee from Boquete.

Well, here I am in my self-portrait, one of many fledgling artists living in Boquete.  We’re all inspired by simply living among so many other artists and growers here.

When I become a “real” artist, you’ll still be seeing me drinking an exquisite, flavorful, picturesque, luxurious cup of gourmet coffee from Boquete, the finest coffee in the world!

I wonder if those two groups of people might be the same ones who haven’t savored the full body, rich intensity, dark, deep, heavy, creamy experience of sipping a fine, boutique cup of the world’s finest coffee from Boquete, Panama.

The three coffee makes I’m reviewing here are the Pasquini, the Gaggia Titanium, and the Expression 2 Group Espresso Machine.

Once someone has the “coffee” experience, they are coffee lovers forever and they will pay almost any price to get the finest coffee grown anywhere and to make the finest cup of coffee possible.   The enjoyment and satisfaction experienced at the moment the coffee touches your palate is indescribable.  We are talking about spending lots of money to get that pleasure, $1,500.00, for that matter.

Let’s get back to the fact that the kind of expresso coffee maker I’m looking for is expensive and I’m trying to think of 3 good reasons to make such an big investment.

First, I live in Boquete, I grow coffee and I love coffee.  Notice my first reason actually contains 3 reasons, all actually very good reasons, but not good enough to justify an outlay of $1,500.00.  I’ll keep thinking about my first reason, especially when there are so many fine expresso makers for under $150.00.

Next, I need the challenge of learning how to make the perfect cup of coffee at home, you know, like a real barista makes at Starbucks.  The barista performs the incredible job of making the very finest cup of coffee possible and I really want to learn how they do it.  If you want to see just what every barista does during their day on the job, visit  http://www.greenbeanscoffee.com/pdf/GBCC_Barista_Job_Description.pdf.  After carefully reading the responsibilities of a barista, I’m not so sure this reason will hold up.

Lastly, very few private homes have a fine expresso maker and wouldn’t you think “The Boquete Gourmet” should have one?  Please let me know what you think – is it worth $1,500.00 to have such a fine appliance in my gourmet kitchen?