What Does Panama Elida Taste Like & How to Brew Panama Coffee

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Product Information

Brand: FrontStreet Coffee

Net Weight: 227g

Packaging: Bulk

Coffee Bean State: Roasted Coffee Beans

Sugar Content: Sugar-free

Origin: Panama

Roast Level: Medium Roast

About Typica Variety

Typica is a tall-growing cultivar of Arabica, originating from the branch extending from Yemen to Java. It began spreading on Java Island in the early 18th century.

As the oldest native variety from Ethiopia, all Arabica varieties are derived from Typica. Typica plants have bronze-colored young leaves and oval or slender-pointed beans. They offer elegant flavors but have weak constitution, poor disease resistance, and low fruit yield. Premium estate beans like Jamaica Blue Mountain, Sumatra Mandheling, and Hawaii Kona all belong to the Typica family.

Its plants are very similar to what we call Java today, with bronze-tipped young leaves, large fruits and seeds, very low yield, and susceptibility to all major pests and diseases.

Panama Boquete Elida Typica Natural

Country: Panama

Grade: SHB

Region: Boquete

Roast Level: Medium Roast

Processing: Natural

Variety: Typica

Flavor: Rich tropical fruits, strawberry notes, black plum

The Elida Estate

Volcán Barú is a young active volcano exceeding 3,400 meters in elevation, surrounded by seven different microclimate zones that nurture rich and diverse ecosystems. The diverse microclimates have both advantages and disadvantages for coffee cultivation. However, Elida's flavor is more intense and aromatic than most Panama beans, with black berry aftertaste and varied mouthfeel, making it extremely popular among coffee connoisseurs.

However, high altitude also has disadvantages. For Elida, the average coffee cultivation altitude exceeds 1,700 meters. The high elevation combined with cool night temperatures means coffee takes five years to harvest after planting, making the waiting period extremely long. During harvest season, coffee often takes over a month to ripen. If abnormal weather occurs before ripening—such as typhoons or heavy rains—significant losses are inevitable. However, under the insistence on quality, refusal to harvest prematurely leads to greatly reduced yields, making the risk much higher than for low-altitude estates.

Brewing Recommendations

For pour-over Panama coffee: Use 15g of coffee, ground medium (using a Fuji mountain grinder with ghost teeth), V60 dripper, water temperature 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water and let bloom for 27 seconds. Then pour to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level drops to halfway before continuing to pour. Slowly pour until reaching 225g total. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Boquete Region

Panama coffee is famous for the Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda, and the region where this estate is located is also quite renowned: the Boquete region in Chiriqui Province. Boquete is a town in Chiriqui Province, situated near the border between Panama and Costa Rica, close to the famous Barú Volcano. With its beautiful scenery, fertile soil, and climate ideal for producing high-quality coffee, Boquete is perfect for coffee cultivation.

Elida's Excellence

Since 2006, Elida's selected batches have consistently ranked among Panama's best winning batches, with prices increasing year by year. Among Central American estates, Elida should be considered the one with the most prominent "Kenyan black berry notes." Its black berry and persistent complex fruit flavors often leave people full of praise. What judges also flock to is Elida's unique "umami" flavor. Currently, many experts include "umami" as the fifth basic taste (sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami). The effect of umami is similar to MSG, enhancing freshness or used in foods like dried shiitake mushrooms, aged cheese, and kombu for making broth. Umami in coffee is related to good "aftertaste"—for example, a long and pleasant sensation after sipping all belong to the experience of umami flavor.

Elida's processing facilities, equipment, and procedures are all meticulously crafted. Generally, when coffee fruits reach a certain stage of post-processing, if their moisture content exceeds 20% for extended periods, not only do the quality components easily deteriorate, but there's also the possibility of off-flavors developing. Since Elida's processing facility is still at high altitude, it has dedicated processing equipment to control temperature and timing during drying. This must be controlled precisely and is a crucial step affecting quality.

This batch uses natural processing and the classic Typica variety. Typica: Ethiopia's oldest native variety, originating from southeastern Ethiopia and Sudan. All Arabica varieties are derived from Typica. It offers elegant flavors but has weak constitution, poor disease resistance, and low fruit yield. Premium estate beans like Jamaica Blue Mountain, Sumatra Mandheling, and Hawaii Kona all belong to the Typica family. Typica plants have copper-colored young leaves, known as red-topped coffee, and belong to the Arabica species.

Elida Estate

Over half of Elida Estate's area lies within Panama National Park's reserve area. It is a rare ultra-high-altitude estate in Central America, cultivating coffee between 1,700 and nearly 2,000 meters where terrain permits. It's famous for its "rich, umami" main flavor profile.

Elida Estate belongs to owner Wilford Lamastus. This estate cultivates three varieties: Typica, Geisha, and Catuai, with seedling areas nurturing these varieties. The journey to the estate is beautiful. At 1,700 meters elevation, the air becomes cold and crisp, like walking in high mountains enjoying forest bathing and breathing very fresh air. The terrain at 2,000 meters is steep and rugged. After crossing the ridge line to reach the saddle area, it's surprisingly flat open ground that can shelter from howling mountain winds. Wilford says this is the perfect place to grow Geisha!

Flavor Profile

Flavor description: Rich tropical fruits, strawberry notes, black plum, apricot, peach, longan, with intense fruity wine aroma.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473