orry all you Tim Horton’s triple-triplers, coffee snobs say that to truly enjoy a cup of coffee, one must drink it black and without sugar. Whether or not it matters if that cup has emptied your wallet of $15 dineros is another issue. At Vancouver’s Caffé Artigiano, the price of a cup of joe has just gone through the roof and we have no one to blame but Panama, makers of that smooth, black gold, Esmeralda Especial. Even the name sounds delicious.

For the third straight year in a row, Panama’s coffee estate, Hacienda la Esmeralda Especial, has been awarded the “World's Best Coffee” title by the Specialty Coffee Association of America's Roasters Guild Cupping Pavilion Competition. In late May, Esmeralda Especial began selling for $130 per pound. Just to put this into perspective, commercial-grade coffee sells for about $1 per pound. Those be some pricey beans.

At the specialty Coffee Association of America’s 2007 Roasters Guild Cupping Pavilion Competition, Esmeralda Especial received a score of 96.4 out of 100 by the judges who praised its aroma, acidity and lasting aftertaste.

Caffé Artigiano has purchased 80 bags of the magic beans and will be selling cupfuls ($15) or half-pound bags ($135). Compared to Serendipity 3’s $1,000 Golden Opulence Sundae, a $15 cup of liquid bean juice doesn’t seem all that bad. The only problem is you’ll have to sell off a few heirlooms if you want a taste.