Panama Elida Estate | A Century of Super Premium Coffee Producer: Elida Estate Natural Typica Special

Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange | For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

Panama Elida Estate Natural Typica

FrontStreet Coffee · Panama Elida Estate Natural Typica

Region: Boquete, Panama
Estate: Elida Estate
Altitude: 1850 meters
Variety: Typica
Processing: Natural

01 | Region Introduction

Boquete Region

Boquete is a town in the Chiriqui province, located near the border between Panama and Costa Rica, close to the famous Baru volcano. The area boasts beautiful scenery, rich and fertile soil, and climate and soil conditions that are exceptionally suitable for producing high-quality coffee.

The microclimate found in the highlands of Boquete is a unique and vital resource for the specialty coffee of the Boquete region. The east-to-west environmental pattern of Panama causes cold air currents to converge above 6500 feet through the central mountain range, creating various microclimates in the Boquete area. This makes the temperature and rainfall exceptionally suitable for plant growth, allowing coffee trees planted here to thrive exceptionally well.

02 | Estate Introduction

Elida Estate

Panama's Elida Estate is located in the renowned specialty coffee producing region of Boquete. Elida Estate covers a total area of 65 hectares, with more than half situated within the Baru Volcano National Park. Only 30 hectares of the estate are used for coffee cultivation, while the remainder remains pristine primary forest. The coffee is grown at altitudes ranging from 1670 to 1850 meters, making it one of the two highest-altitude coffee estates in Panama (the other estate with similar altitude is Carmen Estate in the Volcancito Valley).

At such high altitudes, the low temperatures delay the maturation of coffee cherries by about a full month compared to normal maturity periods. The fertile volcanic soil provides abundant nutrients for the coffee, and combined with the excellent microclimate brought by the Baru volcano, this enables Elida Estate to consistently achieve outstanding results in cupping competitions.

Elida Estate primarily cultivates three varieties: Catuai, Typica, and Geisha. The processing plant is located halfway up the mountainside, allowing coffee to be transported to the facility immediately after harvesting to ensure the quality of the coffee cherries is not compromised. Of course, Elida's environment is also suitable for growing other high-quality temperate crops, especially tree tomatoes and some rare high-altitude fruits. Interestingly, the flavors of these fruits can often be detected in Elida's coffee.

Elida Estate is the most renowned estate of the Lamastus family, founded in 1918. From the time Robert Lamastus, the founder of the Lamastus family's coffee estates, planted the first coffee tree, it has now passed through a century and witnessed the global popularization of specialty coffee.

Elida Estate is the most renowned estate of the Lamastus family, founded in 1918. From the time Robert Lamastus, the founder of the Lamastus family's coffee estates, planted the first coffee tree, it has now passed through a century and witnessed the global popularization of specialty coffee.

Today, Elida Estate continues to be operated by descendants of the Lamastus family, including estate owner Mr. Wilford, his father Thatcher, and his son/fourth-generation successor Wilford Jr.

As a traditional coffee family, coffee has become integrated into their family DNA. Wilford was born on a small coffee farm, and his parents were also born on coffee farms. Today, the coffee produced by the estate comes from Elida Estate, Burro Estate, and Luito Estate.

In addition to the exceptionally high altitude and microclimate, estate owner Mr. Wilford has invested considerable effort in harvesting and processing. To achieve the highest standards, Elida Estate's coffee is only hand-picked from the most mature coffee cherries ("Ripe on Pinton"). The high maturity level naturally results in higher sugar content in the mucilage, which is the foundation for Elida's excellent flavor profile.

In addition to being extremely strict about coffee cultivation and processing, Mr. Wilford is also more rigorous than industry peers in the "purification" of green beans after processing. For Panama's Elida Estate, after green bean processing is completed, it requires more than 5 months of low-temperature resting to remove green flavors. This allows the coffee's flavors to develop in a more balanced and full manner.

(Low-temperature resting is a green bean purification concept strongly promoted by coffee master George Howell starting in 2006. We found that while green beans from subtropical regions need to be stored at low temperatures, different processing methods and altitudes change the required low-temperature resting time. For Panama's Elida Estate, 5 months of low-temperature resting is optimal.)

The oldest coffee estate in Panama's history, and one of the highest-altitude estates in the Boquete region, growing Geisha at ultra-high altitude (2050m). Not only has it won multiple BOP championships, but it also holds the BOP cupping score record (in 2018, Elida Green Top Washed Geisha scored an exceptional 94.66, breaking the 2016 BOP record of 94.15 for Elida Green Top Washed Geisha).

03 | Green Bean Analysis

Typica is one of the oldest varieties of Arabica coffee species discovered today, along with Bourbon. The Arabica species originates from Ethiopia, where this variety still naturally grows in the local primary rainforest highlands.

Typica beans are elongated, the trees are tall, the cherries are oval-shaped, and the branches are slightly inclined. Typica has four slender branches that spread out at a 50-70 degree angle. The coffee yield per tree is very low, but the cupping scores are very high.

04 | Roasting Analysis

Because the beans are charged at a lower temperature, the flavor will not be as clean and intense as when charged at high temperatures, but the benefit is that the mouthfeel will be very gentle and smooth. Since the development time after first crack is very short, the heat must be sufficient, otherwise the expected final temperature won't be reached and the caramelization will be insufficient.

I will use coasting, which is what most roasting beginners ask about. In fact, coasting is the action of reducing temperature or turning off the heat, using the roaster's residual temperature to continue roasting the beans. Throughout the entire roasting process, the beans are absorbing heat, only first and second crack are exothermic actions. During these two stages, it's best not to increase the heat for roasting, otherwise the beans can easily develop a spicy, harsh flavor.

Coasting emphasizes turning off the heat and utilizing the roaster's residual temperature combined with the heat generated by the beans during the crack period, allowing the roasted beans to continue slow, gradual baking.

Roaster: Yangjia 600g Semi-direct Flame

Charge at 170°C with air damper at 3. After 30 seconds, adjust heat to 140°C, air damper unchanged. Return point at 1'25". Adjust heat once at 140°C. At this point, the bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, dehydration is complete. Adjust heat to 110°C, air damper to 4.

At 8'45", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast aroma clearly transforms to coffee aroma - this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the first crack sound. At 9'07", first crack begins, reduce heat to 90°C, adjust air damper to 4 (adjust heat very carefully, not so low that cracking stops). 1'45" after first crack, discharge at 190°C.

Cupping Notes:
Dry Aroma: Caramel, roasted almonds, floral notes
Wet Aroma: Jackfruit, fermented wine aroma
Flavor: Smooth entry, distinct raisin, peach, orange, melon, cane sugar, and caramel flavors. Green tea-like mouthfeel, high cleanliness.

05 | Brewing Analysis

Recommended brewing methods: Siphon, pour-over
Grind size: 3.5 (Japan Fuji R440)

V60 dripper, 15g coffee, water temperature 90°C, grind 3.5, water-to-coffee ratio approximately 1:15
30ml water for bloom, bloom time 30s

分段注水: Pour to 120ml, pause, then slowly pour to 225ml
即 30-120-225

FrontStreet Coffee Panama Elida Estate Natural Typica Flavor Profile: The entry clearly presents flavors of peach, raisin, and orange. Gradually, cane sugar and melon sweetness emerge, with the finish featuring grapefruit and green tea-like notes.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473