Introduction to Award-Winning Panamanian Estates: What's the Difference Between Donkey Estate and Mule Estate?

Those familiar with Panama coffee, like FrontStreet Coffee, will immediately think of Boquete when mentioning the country's specialty coffee regions. After all, this area is home to many outstanding Geisha producers, with renowned estates like Hacienda La Esmeralda, Elida Estate, and Duncan Estate being well-known top contenders that we've long been familiar with.

On this fertile land, two estates both use animal names that sound quite similar in Chinese, one called "El Burro Estate" (Donkey Estate) and another "Finca La Mula" (Mule Estate), often causing confusion. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will take you to explore these two coffee growing areas and discover the charm of Geisha.

Geography of Panama's Coffee Region

First, almost all Panama estates are located in the Chiriqui province in the west, bordering neighboring Costa Rica, and situated on both sides of the Baru Volcano mountain range. To the west is Volcan, and to the east is Boquete. Although the straight-line distance between Volcan and Boquete is only 22 kilometers, driving requires navigating around the main mountain range, covering nearly 100 kilometers and taking at least an hour and a half.

Boquete is actually the name of a valley, located right in the middle of Baru Volcano and Jaramillo Mountain, forming a narrow, elongated zone. The scenery here is beautiful, with cool and pleasant dry seasons and continuous light rain during the rainy season. Even without discussing coffee, Boquete attracts travelers from various countries due to its natural advantages. Local residents have made good use of the location along the Rio Caldera river, building numerous restaurants, villas, and resorts, making it a favored exploration destination for many visitors.

FrontStreet Coffee observed from maps that Panama is situated between two ocean currents, where Caribbean Sea and Pacific air currents converge above 6,500 feet in the Boquete valley, creating unique and variable microclimates. This results in moderate temperature and humidity, and combined with volcanic soil, allows coffee cherries grown here to more easily develop rich and diverse aromatic characteristics.

El Burro Estate

El Burro means "donkey" in Spanish, and El Burro Estate comes from the renowned coffee-producing Lamastus family of Panama.

The Lamastus family story began in 1918 and now spans four generations of management. From the initial establishment of the first coffee estate by Robert Louis Lamastus, to his son Thatcher with his wife Elida, then to the more familiar Wilford Lamastus, and now to the youngest fourth generation.

After a century of development, the Lamastus family now owns three estates: Elida, El Burro, and Luisito. Among them, Elida Estate, named after the first-generation matriarch, is not only the earliest established and most famous coffee plantation but also a frequent champion in the Best of Panama (BOP) green bean competition.

Regarding the origin of the estate's name, FrontStreet Coffee could not find exact official documentation, but it is said that the area where the estate is located was previously used for livestock raising, which is why the owner named it "Donkey."

According to official website information, El Burro Estate was established in 1925 and originally owned by Amado Boutet, Thatcher's father-in-law and the grandfather of current third-generation manager Wilford Lamastus. Due to a period of low global coffee market prices, the family had to sell large portions of their coffee estates. However, Wilford and his brother Patrick couldn't bear to see their family estate sold off, so they purchased it to continue operations. To keep the estate running, Wilford's family had to take on other work to obtain additional income. After years of effort, they have created today's "famous estate" that consistently ranks among the top candidates in major green bean competitions.

El Burro Estate is located southwest of Elida and is one of Panama's southernmost plantations, covering 65 hectares. However, because part of the land is within Baru Volcano National Park, only 30 hectares are used for coffee cultivation, with the remaining half surrounded by pristine forest. This has preserved rich biodiversity, making it a habitat for many rare plants, birds, and mammals. The farm has strictly prohibited hunting for decades.

El Burro Estate primarily grows two coffee varieties: 50% Geisha and 50% Catuai. The coffee trees mainly grow at elevations between 1,575-1,800 meters, with an average elevation of 1,675 meters. The high altitude brings significant temperature differences between day and night. Additionally, the area has fertile volcanic ash soil, heavy fog during the dry season, and cold nights, with the highest points sometimes dropping below 10 degrees Celsius. Therefore, coffee trees planted here need 4.5 to 5.5 years to begin bearing fruit, and the coffee cherry maturation period is about a month later than in relatively lower altitude areas, allowing the beans to effectively accumulate more flavor compounds.

To taste the competition flavors, FrontStreet Coffee also acquired a natural processed Geisha from El Burro Estate and used medium-light roasting. After brewing, it displayed round acidity of green grapes and apricots, high sweetness of orange and dried longan, accompanied by delicate floral notes and a slight fermentation sensation. As the temperature decreases, the sweet and sour taste of orange becomes even more pronounced!

Finca La Mula

Compared to El Burro, Finca La Mula has a more precise origin story and is deeply connected to Geisha. First, let's turn back the timeline to 2004. In the same year that Geisha made its debut, judge Willem Boot tasted Geisha coffee for the first time and was immediately captivated by its delicate orange and honey notes, which inspired his dream of establishing an estate.

Willem Boot is a highly respected figure in the coffee industry. Born in the Netherlands and raised in the small town of Baarn near Amsterdam, he developed a strong interest in coffee from childhood. Those familiar with Geisha should not be too unfamiliar with William, or even find him quite recognizable, as he was the guide who led Geisha Village Estate into the Gesha forest and is known as the "Godfather of Geisha."

He roasted his first batch of coffee at age 14, and after obtaining a master's degree in business economics from the University of Amsterdam, he co-owned and operated a specialty coffee business with his family. In 1989, he moved to San Francisco, USA, and worked at Probat Company. Later in 1998, he founded Boot Coffee, providing consulting for coffee companies, associations, development banks, and governments worldwide. In 2016, he established Boot Coffee Campus, a leading training institution near San Francisco, California, serving the coffee industry throughout the Pacific region.

Through the introduction of Panamanian estate owner Graciano Cruz, he found a high-altitude area near Baru Volcano that was perfect for coffee cultivation - what we now know as Finca La Mula, which was purchased by William in 2005. Because he first traveled there riding a mule, he named the estate "Mule."

Finca La Mula is located in the southern part of Chiriqui province, Panama. Because it is adjacent to Baru Volcano National Park and situated on slopes between 1,700-1,800 meters elevation, the soil is rich in mineral elements. The surrounding area also features beautiful natural scenery and a rather pristine jungle atmosphere. These are all advantageous prerequisites for coffee cultivation, but they also mean that land clearing and planting would be extremely challenging.

Due to the lack of proper roads leading to the forest, all coffee seedlings had to be mixed by hand and then carried through winding forest paths on foot to be successfully planted in the fields. Not until 2007, on this mere 5-hectare piece of land, did William and his team successfully plant over 6,000 Geisha coffee trees. Today, William owns three estates: Finca La Mula, Finca La Cabra, and Finca Sofia. Although Finca La Mula has the smallest area, it has won numerous awards since beginning to participate in competitions in 2014, becoming a high-quality renowned estate that countless Geisha enthusiasts long for.

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