Panama Coffee Estate Introduction to Panama Elida Estate Panama Elida Coffee Varieties

Elida Estate: A Premier Coffee Growing Region

Elida Estate lies in the Boquete region of Chiriqui province, on the western border of Panama. The province's most famous landmark and tourist destination is the 3,300-meter-high Baru Volcano, one of the highest volcanoes in Central America.

With a total area of approximately 14,000 hectares, the volcano can be divided into 7 different microclimate zones by altitude. Many rare plants, birds and mammals inhabit the volcanic area, which has been designated a national park to protect against hunting and human development or destruction. The Boquete region sits on the eastern side of Baru Volcano, in a valley formed by volcanic lava flows. It lies alongside Volcan Valley, another well-known Panamanian coffee region, separated by the volcano. Boquete has always been Panama's most notable coffee producing area, home to numerous world-renowned estates such as Esmeralda, Hartman Estate (a frequent Best of Panama winner), Mama Cata, Kotowa and Santa Teresa. Elida Estate itself is one of the heavyweight star estates of Boquete. It has won Best of Panama awards for five consecutive years, a record second only to Esmeralda Estate.

The Lamastus Family Legacy

Elida Estate is owned by the Lamastus family, who began growing coffee in 1918. In addition to the coffee within the estate, they now own another property, El Burro. In 2015, the two estates had a total of seven coffee lots available for auction. Besides coffee, they grow many native tree species that shade the coffee and protect the ecosystem. The family fertilizes its coffee trees by hand and refuses to use environmentally harmful herbicides and pesticides. The varieties currently grown include Catuai, Typica and Bourbon, and they began planting Geisha several years ago. Even though the estate grows many varieties, they still use Catuai for Best of Panama competitions and have consistently achieved excellent results, demonstrating the estate's superior geography and processing technology.

High Altitude Excellence

Elida Estate is a star estate in Boquete and one of the two highest-altitude coffee estates in Panama. (The other, with similar altitude, is Carmen Estate, located in Volcan Valley.) The estate has a total area of 65 hectares, with more than half lying inside Baru Volcano National Park. Only 30 hectares are used for coffee cultivation, while the remaining 35 hectares are primary forest. Because of the high altitude, year-round low temperatures delay the ripening of the cherries. Yet being near the volcano, the volcanic soil provides rich nutrients for cultivation, enabling this estate's beans to consistently achieve excellent competition results.

Elida Estate (Finca Elida) Award Records:

• 2015 Best of Panama (BOP) Traditional Washed Category 2nd Place
• 2015 Best of Panama (BOP) Traditional Natural Category 3rd Place
• 2015 Best of Panama (BOP) Geisha Washed Category 4th Place
• 2015 Best of Panama (BOP) Geisha Natural Category 5th Place
• 2014 Best of Panama BOP Natural Category 3rd and 7th Place, Natural Geisha Category 3rd Place
• 2014 Selected bean for Taiwan champion who placed 7th in WBC World Championship
• 2013 Best of Panama BOP Natural Category 6th and 11th Place
• 2012 Best of Panama BOP Natural Category 5th and 7th Place
• 2011 Best of Panama BOP Natural Category 3rd and 4th Place

El Burro Estate Award Records:

• 2015 Best of Panama (BOP) Traditional Natural Category 3rd Place
• 2015 Best of Panama (BOP) Geisha Natural Category 3rd Place
• 2015 Geisha Washed was an auction lot

Variety Comparison: Typica vs Catuai

Even for beans from the same Panama Elida Estate, do different varieties show significant flavor differences? FrontStreet Coffee compared the Typica and Catuai varieties from Elida Estate.

Cupping

Elida Typica: Features fermented fruit aroma and jasmine fragrance, with peach and orange acidity on entry creating a sweet-and-sour sensation. The sweetness of raisins and cane sugar is distinct, with an overall refreshingly sweet character.

Elida Catuai: Has fermented wine aroma and rose fragrance, with berry, citrus and green tea flavors on entry. Creamy, nutty aftertaste and cane sugar sweetness, with a more balanced overall profile.

Pour Over

Equipment: V60

Water Temperature: 89°C

Grind Size: BG 5R (58% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve)

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Technique: 30g water for a 30-second bloom, then slowly pour with a small flow to 125g and pause. Once the water level drops to just before exposing the coffee bed, continue pouring to 230g to finish.

Elida Typica: Orange and citrus acidity on entry, with fermented wine aroma. Sweetness of raisins and preserved fruits, creating a sweet-and-sour sensation. Black tea aftertaste with long-lasting cane sugar and caramel sweetness.

Elida Catuai: Citrus and berry acidity on entry, with raisin sweetness. Nutty, chocolate and creamy flavors, with a pine nut aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee's comparison revealed that Elida Estate's Typica leans toward preserved-fruit sweetness, while Catuai shows nutty and chocolate flavors. So even for beans grown on the same estate at similar altitudes, different varieties produce different flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If Elida Estate has you curious about Panama's high-altitude volcanic terroir, start with FrontStreet's Boquete Washed Geisha. Planted at 1,600 meters, it's an estate-level introduction to Geisha: the fertile volcanic ash soil feeds a rich aroma, and the cup shows Geisha's signature jasmine, green tea, honey, citrus and orange notes.

For a higher tier, FrontStreet's Esmeralda Estate Red Label Geisha is harvested from a single plot above 1,700 meters, with a cupping score of 91 and a refined orange-blossom-honey expression. And if you want the Geisha character in a more approachable blend, FrontStreet's Panama Washed Butterfly combines Geisha with Caturra and Catuai, grown in the same Baru Volcano area, giving a full body, citrus acidity and jasmine aroma that suits both pour-over and cold brew.