World Barista Championship Winning Beans: What Are the Flavor Profiles of Panama Donkey Estate Coffee?

In 1925, a French immigrant who had settled in Panama bought a piece of land in Boquete for coffee cultivation. Because the site had previously been used for livestock farming, the buyer, Mr. Aristides Boutet, named the property "Don Pachi Estate."

In just over half a year, Don Pachi Estate will join Elida Estate in becoming a century-old estate, making it the second centenary farm owned by the Lamastus family. Today FrontStreet Coffee introduces this Don Pachi Estate, which is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

Don Pachi Estate

Don Pachi Estate sits in the Baru Volcano mountain range of Boquete, Panama. As you may have noticed, many renowned Panama estates are concentrated here, and that is because the region enjoys exceptional terroir resources, including Panama's unique microclimate.

Looking at a map, Panama's terrain stretches from east to west in an S shape. Every winter, two air currents collide in the high-altitude areas of the central mountain range: one is a cold current from Florida, USA, moving from north to south, and the other is a warm, moist current from the Pacific Ocean, moving from west to north.

When these two distinctly different air currents collide, they create variable wind patterns and frequent rainfall locally. The resulting climate provides ideal temperature and precipitation for plant cultivation, which is why people often call this Panama's unique and important resource. Don Pachi Estate lies near these mountains, making it a beneficiary of this climate.

We should also mention Baru Volcano, since Panama's main coffee-producing regions are centered on it. The fertile volcanic soil is rich in organic matter, and the presence of potassium, phosphorus, and other substances supplies abundant nutrients for coffee growth, resulting in more exceptional flavors. This is why the land is also known as a "coffee paradise."

The Lamastus Family Legacy

Mr. Aristides Boutet was not only the founder of Don Pachi Estate but also the grandfather of Mr. Wilford Lamastus of the Lamastus family. It is precisely because of this relationship that Don Pachi Estate became part of the Lamastus family's holdings.

For a long period in the past, the coffee market suffered from oversupply, and prices stayed continuously low. Many estate owners could not survive the difficult period and had to sell their properties, including Mr. Aristides Boutet. However, Mr. Wilford and his brother Patrick Lamastus could not bear to see Don Pachi Estate fall into outsiders' hands, so they purchased it and carried on its operation.

Estate Details and Coffee Cultivation

Don Pachi Estate is slightly smaller than Elida Estate, at only about 50 hectares, but that is still a substantial piece of land. Like most estates in the Boquete region, part of Don Pachi Estate lies within Panama's National Forest Park. Because the forest is protected by the state and logging is strictly prohibited, this portion, about 20 hectares, cannot be used for coffee.

After removing the 20 hectares that cannot be cultivated, the Lamastus family allocated the remaining 30 hectares as follows: 10 hectares as a reserved cultivation area and 20 hectares for coffee bean cultivation, mainly growing Geisha and Catuai varieties.

Rise to Prominence

At the time, however, the Lamastus family's venture was not promising. To keep the estate running and maintain their daily lives, the family had to take on other work to secure their livelihood and raise funds to run the farm.

With the Lamastus family's persistent efforts, the estate finally saw the light of day and welcomed its own spring. Since 2015, Don Pachi Estate has won awards continuously, becoming a renowned estate that frequently excels in the Best of Panama (BOP) competition. In 2016, a contestant from Japan's Maruyama Coffee even won the championship using Don Pachi Estate's Geisha.

FrontStreet Coffee's Don Pachi Geisha

So FrontStreet Coffee has brought in another Don Pachi Estate Geisha for everyone to taste. That's right, we just could not resist. This Geisha uses natural processing. The natural method involves drying the whole coffee fruit, skin and pulp intact, until it reaches a certain moisture content range, which typically takes about 2 to 4 weeks. Finally, a hulling machine removes the shell surrounding the beans, and the green bean processing is complete.

Coffee beans processed using the natural method have richer flavor layers, so FrontStreet Coffee uses a medium-light roast for this Geisha to better interpret its exceptional flavors.

Coffee Information

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Don Pachi Estate Geisha

Country: Panama
Region: Boquete
Altitude: 1800 meters
Variety: Geisha
Processing: Natural
Grade: SHB
Flavor Notes: Green grapes, apricot, floral notes, dried longan, orange

Cupping Notes

Eight hours after roasting was completed, FrontStreet Coffee immediately held a cupping session. In terms of dry aroma, this Don Pachi Estate natural Geisha exuded rich orange and floral notes. After breaking the crust and tasting, we could experience the rounded acidity of green grapes and apricot, the high sweetness of orange and dried longan, and, throughout, elegant floral notes with a slight fermented sensation. As the temperature decreased, the sweet-and-sour flavor of orange became even more pronounced.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the Don Pachi Geisha's citrus-and-floral elegance appeals to you, the classic comparison is Panama's Boquete region. FrontStreet Coffee's Boquete washed Geisha is an estate-level introduction to the variety, grown at 1,600 meters on fertile volcanic ash soil; brewed, it shows the jasmine, green tea, honey, citrus, and orange notes that define Geisha.

For another Boquete expression, FrontStreet Coffee's Panama washed Butterfly is a blend of Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai grown in the Baru Volcano area. With half its lineage from fine Geisha stock, it balances body, citrus acidity, and jasmine aroma, and suits both pour-over and cold brew.