Pour-over Brewing Guide for Panama Elida Estate Natural Catuai Coffee

Panama Boquete Elida Estate Catuai Natural

Producer: Wilford Lamastus

Altitude: 1600-1850 meters

If you love juice,

yes, Elida absolutely is

fruits exploding in the cup.

Subtle floral notes and complex, varied tropical fruit aromas.

Pineapple, peach, mango, cherry, raisins: sweet fruits, with preserved-fruit fragrance. The mid-palate reveals jackfruit, berries, and citrus juice with concentrated fruit sweetness. The finish features premium fermented black tea aromas and fruit-wine notes, with a comfortable fruit base that is sweet with a touch of acidity, like an autumn orchard filled with mature, elegant fruit aromas.

Elida Estate, winner of the Best of Panama award for 7 consecutive years, presents this rare natural-process Panama bean. It scored 95 points in Coffee Review, which described it as "exquisite and gorgeous mouthfeel, with pineapple fruit and black cherry dry aromas, floral notes, woody aromas, with hints of tobacco and dark chocolate. Refreshing mouthfeel, sweet and sour flavors are harmonious, delicate and lingering, with a sweet and full aftertaste. This cup of coffee will absolutely overturn your impression of Panama."

Elida, which has always competed in BOP with Catuai, won the washed category championship in 2016 with its Green Tip Geisha. This estate, whose impressive BOP record is second only to La Esmeralda, became the new price king at $275.5 per pound of green beans. Elida Estate also achieved rankings in both the Traditional Natural category and the Innovative Processing category at that year's BOP.

I love people who create miracles, things that create miracles, and estates that create miracles.

Getting to Know Elida - This Famous BOP Estate

Elida Estate is located in Boquete, Panama's coffee region. It sits at high altitude, with parts even located within the Volcan Baru National Park Reserve. Baru is one of the highest volcanoes in Central America and Panama's only volcanic terrain. With excellent growing conditions, the cultivation altitude is approximately 1600-1850 meters. Elida primarily cultivates three varieties: CATUAI, GEISHA, and CRIOLLO.

The name Elida comes from estate owner Wilford Lamastus's grandmother. Each year, Elida Estate manually conducts ripeness judgment and selection for the annual BOP (Best of Panama) event. The harvested fruit is immediately processed and properly stored as green beans. (Elida Estate has its own processing plant and warehouse. To ease transportation, the processing plant is located on the outer edge of the estate, which is also a guarantee of quality.)

Mango, Passion Fruit, Rum

When it comes to Panama's competitors besides La Esmeralda, the renowned Elida is likely one of them. Elida Estate is located in Panama's western border province, with more than half of its area situated within Panama National Park. The nearby Baru Volcano brings rich, diverse microclimates for coffee cultivation, and the fertile volcanic soil gives its coffee special mouthfeel and aromas. Consequently, beans produced by Elida Estate have richer flavors and texture compared with other Panama beans.

This Elida features distinct tropical fruit, raisin, and wine-like qualities. Compared with the tea-like sensations of other Panama beans, its slightly heavier texture complements the flavors perfectly.

Region: Boquete

Altitude: 1600-1850m

Variety: Catuai

Processing: Natural Process

How to Brew Panama Elida Natural Catuai Well

FrontStreet Coffee's Pour-Over Reference: weigh 15 g of Panama Elida Natural Catuai coffee powder and pour it into a grinder for a medium grind. The ground particles should be slightly coarser than table salt; we use BG grinder setting 4B, a water temperature of 91°C, and brew with a wave filter.

The hot water in the pour-over kettle should be poured in clockwise circles centered on the middle of the filter. Start timing when brewing begins. Within 15 seconds, brew the coffee to 30 g, then stop pouring. When the time reaches 1 minute, begin the second pour. For the second pour, as before, pour in clockwise circles centered on the middle of the filter. The water flow should not hit where the coffee grounds meet the filter paper, to avoid channeling.

Leave one circle when pouring to the outermost edge of the grounds, then continue pouring in circles toward the center. At 2 minutes and 20 seconds, the coffee should reach 220 g, and the brewing is complete.

Ice Brew Geisha

FrontStreet Coffee's Ice Brew Reference:

Panama Elida Natural Catuai, light roast, BG grinder setting 4B, grind level 3. Use 20 g of beans, 83°C water temperature, pre-infuse for 3 minutes in a Chemex, then ice brew with ice water. Total water volume: 200 ml.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If Elida's juicy tropical-fruit character is what you are after, FrontStreet's Panama Boquete Geisha makes an excellent companion. Grown at about 1,600 meters on Boquete's fertile volcanic-ash soils, in a cloud-wrapped microclimate of humid days and cool nights, it is an estate-level entry Geisha that brings the classic Panama orange-and-honey profile at a friendly price: jasmine florals, green tea, honey, and citrus-orange, with clear, distinct layers.

For the higher tier of Panama Geisha, FrontStreet's Emerald Estate line comes from the estate that discovered and popularized Geisha. The Red Label, formally Esmeralda Special, is picked from a single plot above 1,700 meters and cups at 91 points or higher, with each lot carrying its own number so buyers can choose according to subtle flavor preferences; it shows a refined orange-and-honey profile with juicy stone fruit and a tea-like finish. The Green Label, formally Private Collection, blends several plots to express the estate's signature high-altitude Geisha character and offers excellent value. For a natural-processed option that echoes Elida, FrontStreet's Diamond Mountain comes from the estate's own star brand, grown on volcanic soil on the Jaramillo and Canas Verdes farms with the original forest providing shade, giving the beans rich fruit aroma and sweetness.

Either way, Geisha rewards careful brewing: the beans are floral, fruit-forward, and fairly hard, so they can sink and clog the dripper. FrontStreet suggests a medium-fine grind, about 78% pass-through on a Chinese-standard #20 sieve (roughly fine granulated sugar), and 91°C water. Use 15 g of coffee in a small Hario V60 at a 1:16 ratio, poured in three stages: a 30 g bloom for 30 seconds, a gentle circling pour to 125 g, then, once the bed has drawn down to about halfway, a continued pour to 225 g, for a total extraction of about 2:10-2:20.