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

In 1925, a French immigrant who had moved to Panama purchased a piece of land in Boquete for coffee cultivation. Since this location was previously used for livestock farming, Mr. Aristides Boutet, who bought the land, named the estate "Don Pachi Estate."

In just over half a year, Don Pachi Estate will join Elida Estate in becoming a century-renowned estate, marking it as the second centenary farm under the Lamastus family's ownership. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce you to this Don Pachi Estate, which is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

Don Pachi Estate

Don Pachi Estate is situated in the Baru Volcano mountain range of Boquete, Panama. As you may have noticed, many renowned Panama estates are concentrated here. This is because the region boasts exceptional terroir resources, such as Panama's unique microclimate!

Looking at the map, we can see that Panama's terrain extends 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, while 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 formation of these climate conditions provides ideal temperature and precipitation for plant cultivation! This is why people often say this is Panama's unique and important resource. Don Pachi Estate is located near these mountains, making it a beneficiary of this climate.

Additionally, we must mention Baru Volcano, as Panama's main coffee-producing regions are centered around this volcano. The fertile volcanic soil is rich in organic matter, and the presence of potassium, phosphorus, and other substances helps provide abundant nutrients for coffee growth, resulting in more exceptional coffee flavors. Therefore, this land is also renowned as "coffee paradise."

The Lamastus Family Legacy

Speaking of Mr. Aristides Boutet, he 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 properties.

For a long period in the past, the coffee market experienced oversupply, leading to continuously low coffee prices. Many estate owners couldn't survive this difficult period and had to sell their coffee estates, including Mr. Aristides Boutet. However, Mr. Wilford and his brother Patrick Lamastus couldn't bear to see Don Pachi Estate fall into outsiders' hands, so they purchased the estate and continued its operation.

Estate Details and Coffee Cultivation

Don Pachi Estate is slightly smaller than Elida Estate, with only about 50 hectares, but it's still quite a substantial piece of land. Like most estates located in the Boquete region, Don Pachi Estate has part of its area within Panama's National Forest Park. Because the forest is protected by the state and logging is strictly prohibited, this portion of the estate cannot be used for coffee cultivation, amounting to about 20 hectares.

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

However, for the situation at that time, the Lamastus family's operation was not optimistic. To ensure the estate could continue operating and maintain their daily lives, the family had to engage in other work to secure their livelihood and obtain 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 continuously won awards, becoming a renowned coffee estate that frequently achieves excellence 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

Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee has brought in another Don Pachi Estate Geisha for everyone to taste its deliciousness! That's right! We just couldn't resist! This Geisha uses natural processing. The natural processing method involves drying the entire coffee fruit with its skin and pulp intact until it reaches a certain moisture content range, which typically takes about 2-4 weeks. Finally, a hulling machine is used to remove the shell surrounding the beans, and the green bean processing is complete!

Coffee beans processed using the natural method will have richer flavor layers, so FrontStreet Coffee will use 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 conducted 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 that this Geisha displays, the high sweetness of orange and dried longan, accompanied throughout by elegant floral notes and a slight fermented sensation. As the temperature decreases, the sweet and sour flavor of orange becomes even more pronounced!

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