Century-Old Elida Estate - Natural Process Typica Specialty Coffee Flavor Profile and Brewing Parameters

Professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account cafe_style)

FrontStreet Coffee knows that Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda coffee is attractive enough because it has very favorable climate conditions and grows the Geisha variety, which is why it's so popular! If FrontStreet Coffee had to say, if you only drink non-Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha when drinking Panama coffee, you will miss out on many great coffees. Because Panama's famous estates are not just Hacienda La Esmeralda, Elida Estate is also excellent enough, and FrontStreet Coffee recommends a Panama Elida Estate Natural Typica variety. If you want to know why FrontStreet Coffee recommends Elida Estate so highly, it's because...

FrontStreet Coffee - Panama Elida Estate Natural Typica

Region: Boquete Specialty Region, Panama

Estate: Elida Estate

Altitude: 1850 meters

Variety: Typica

Processing Method: Natural

01 | Region Introduction

Boquete Region

Boquete is a town in Chiriqui province, located near the border between Panama and Costa Rica, close to the famous Baru volcano. With its beautiful scenery, fertile and rich soil, the climate and soil are perfect for producing high-quality coffee.

The microclimate found in the highlands of Boquete, Panama, is a unique and important resource for specialty coffee in the Boquete region; this is due to Panama's east-to-west environment that allows cold air currents to converge above 6,500 feet through the central mountains, creating various microclimates in the Boquete area that make temperature and rainfall very suitable for plant growth. Therefore, coffee trees planted here grow in excellent condition.

02 | Estate Introduction

Panama's Elida Estate is located in Panama's renowned specialty coffee region—Boquete. Elida Estate has a total area of 65 hectares, with more than half located within the Baru Volcano National Park. Only 30 hectares of the estate are used for coffee cultivation, while the rest remains pristine primary forest.

The coffee is grown at altitudes ranging from 1670 to 1850 meters, making it one of Panama's two highest-altitude coffee estates (the other estate with similar altitude is Carmen Estate in the Volcán Valley). In such a high-altitude environment, low temperatures cause a delay in coffee cherry maturation, about a full month later than the normal maturation period; while fertile volcanic soil provides ample nutrients for the coffee, coupled with the excellent microclimate brought by Baru volcano, enabling Elida Estate to consistently achieve excellent results in cupping competitions.

Elida Estate mainly grows three varieties: Catuai, Typica, and Geisha. The estate's processing plant is located halfway up the mountainside, so coffee can be transported to the factory for processing immediately after harvesting to ensure the quality of the coffee cherries is not affected. Of course, Elida's environment is also suitable for growing other high-quality temperate crops, especially tree tomatoes and some uncommon high-altitude fruits. Interestingly, the flavors of these fruits can often be found in Elida's coffee.

Elida Estate is the most famous estate of the Lamastus family, founded in 1918. From Robert Lamastus, the family's coffee estate founder, planting the first coffee tree, it has now gone through a century and witnessed the worldwide popularization of specialty coffee. Until now, Elida Estate is still inherited by descendants of the Lamastus family, including estate owner Mr. Wilford, Wilford's father Thatcher, and Wilford's son/fourth-generation successor Wilford Jr. As a traditional coffee family, coffee has been integrated into their family genes. Wilford was born on a small coffee farm, and his parents were also born on coffee farms. The coffee produced by the estate now comes from Elida Estate, Don Eneas Estate, and Luisito Estate.

In addition to the uniquely advantageous high altitude and microclimate, estate owner Mr. Wilford has put considerable effort into harvesting and processing. To achieve the highest standards, Elida Estate's coffee is only allowed to be hand-picked from the most mature coffee cherries (Ripe on Pinton). The high maturity of the fruit means the pectin's sugar content is naturally high, which is the foundation for producing Elida's excellent flavors.

In addition to being extremely strict about coffee cultivation and processing, estate owner Mr. Wilford is also more rigorous than industry peers in the "purification" of green beans after processing. Taking Panama Elida as an example, after green bean processing is completed, it requires more than 5 months of low-temperature resting to remove greenness, which allows the coffee's flavors to develop more balanced and fully. (Low-temperature resting is a green bean purification concept strongly promoted by coffee master George Howell starting in 2006. We found that although green beans from subtropical regions need to be stored at low temperatures, different processing methods and altitudes will change the low-temperature resting time. For Panama Elida, 5 months of low-temperature resting is optimal.)

It is Panama's oldest coffee estate in 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's also the holder of the BOP cupping score record (in 2018, Elida Green Top Washed Geisha broke the 2016 BOP Elida Green Top Washed Geisha record of 94.15 with an ultra-high score of 94.66).

03 | FrontStreet Coffee's Elida Estate Green Bean Analysis

Typica is one of the oldest varieties of Arabica coffee species discovered today, with another called Bourbon. Arabica originates from Ethiopia, where this species still naturally grows in the local primary rainforest highlands today. Typica beans are slender, with tall tree bodies, oval fruits, and slightly inclined branches. Typica has four slender branches in an spreading position with an inclination angle of 50-70 degrees. The coffee yield per tree is very low, but cupping scores are high.

04 | FrontStreet Coffee's Elida Estate Roasting Analysis

Because beans are entered at a lower temperature, the flavor won't be as clean and intense as high-temperature entry, 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 bean-drop temperature caramelization level won't be reached. I would use coasting—this is where most beginning roasters have questions. In fact, coasting is reducing temperature or turning off heat, using the roaster's temperature to continue baking the beans. The entire roasting process involves heat absorption by the beans, with only first and second cracks being heat-releasing actions. During these two stages, it's best not to increase the heat for roasting, otherwise the beans are likely to develop a spicy sensation.

Coasting emphasizes turning off the heat and using the roaster's residual temperature along with the heat generated by the beans during the crack period to continue baking the roasted beans slowly and evenly.

Roasting Machine: Yangjia 600g Semi-direct Heat

When the roaster reaches 170°C, add beans, open the air damper to 3. After 30 seconds, adjust heat to 140°C, air damper unchanged. Return temperature point at 1'25". Adjust heat once at 140°C, when the bean surface turns yellow and grassy smell 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 smell clearly turns to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 9'07", first crack begins, reduce heat to 90°C, air damper to 4 (adjust heat very carefully, not so low that there's no crackling sound). 1'45" after first crack, drop beans at 190°C.

Cupping:

Dry Aroma: Caramel, roasted almonds, floral notes

Wet Aroma: Jackfruit, fermented wine aroma

Mouthfeel: Smooth entry, distinct raisin, peach, orange, melon, cane sugar, and caramel flavors, with green tea sensation and high cleanliness.

05 | FrontStreet Coffee's Elida 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 close to 1:15

30g water for bloom, bloom time 30s
分段: Pour water to 120ml, stop water, slowly pour to 225ml, i.e., 30-120-225

[FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Elida Estate Natural Typica] Flavor Profile: Upon entry, you can clearly feel the flavors of peach, raisin, and orange, slowly followed by the sweetness of cane sugar and melon, with a finish featuring grapefruit and green tea sensations.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473