Daniel Peterson
Daniel Peterson is a third-generation member of the Peterson family and, with his sister Rachel, runs daily operations at Hacienda La Esmeralda (Proud Mary, accessed 2026-07-22). He is best known for the obsessive lot-separation that revealed what the family’s Geisha could really taste like.
Story
Rather than blend the whole farm together, Daniel began keeping coffee separated by plot and altitude and cupping — that is, formally tasting and scoring — the estate’s lots one by one. This is how the family found that the Geisha growing high on the Jaramillo plot tasted like nothing else: intensely floral, tea-like, jasmine and bergamot. That separated lot became the entry that won Best of Panama in 2004 and sold for a then-record $21 per pound, launching the modern ultra-premium coffee market (Clarity Coffee, accessed 2026-07-22).
To verify
Reported by a single blog and not independently confirmed here: that Daniel was born in Panama in 1974, that he began systematically cupping all estate coffees in 2002, and that this is what surfaced the lot marketed as the “Esmeralda Special” (Gafei, accessed 2026-07-22).
Related
Official links
Sources
- Hacienda La Esmeralda — the family’s own site — accessed 2026-07-23
- Proud Mary — Producer: Peterson family, Boquete, Panama — accessed 2026-07-23
- Clarity Coffee — Hacienda La Esmeralda — accessed 2026-07-23
- Gafei — Hacienda La Esmeralda family history — accessed 2026-07-23