What are the coffee estates in Panama? Introduction to Panama Lerida Estate

FrontStreet Coffee's Introduction to Panama Elida Estate

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Elida Estate possesses unique advantageous conditions, located in the Boquete region, and is one of Panama's highest-altitude coffee estates. Moreover, nearly half of its area is within a national protected park, making it a rare ultra-high-altitude estate in Central America!

The estate's history can be traced back to 1918. It is the property of the Lamastus family, and the farm's name, Elida, was the name of the farm owner Robert Louis Lamastus's wife at that time.

Microclimate Zones and Superior Natural Ecological Environment

Elida Estate covers a total area of 65 hectares, with more than half located within the Baru Volcano National Park range. Of the estate's area, 30 hectares are planted with coffee trees, while the remaining 35 hectares consist of pristine forest. The coffee cultivation altitude ranges from 1,670 to 1,850 meters, making it one of Panama's two highest-altitude coffee estates.

Baru is a rugged, young volcano with an altitude exceeding 3,400 meters. It is an active volcano with seven different microclimate zones in its surroundings, fostering a rich and diverse ecological environment. Elida Estate spans across these zones, and the diverse microclimates have both advantages and disadvantages for coffee cultivation. For Elida, its flavors are more intense and its aromas richer and more varied than most Panamanian coffees.

Of course, the ultra-high-altitude terrain also has drawbacks. Due to the large temperature difference between morning and evening, Elida Estate's coffee requires 5 years of care after planting before the first harvest can be obtained. The waiting period for harvest is quite long (typically, coffee in producing regions only takes 3 years). Although plant growth is slower, it greatly contributes to the development of coffee flavors.

Furthermore, after entering the harvest period, due to temperature conditions, the coffee maturation period often exceeds one month. Once hurricanes, heavy rain, or other irresistible factors occur shortly before maturation, despite knowing it will cause significant losses, because the beans have not yet reached the estate's harvest standards, in adherence to quality, they refuse to harvest prematurely, resulting in sharply reduced yields! The risk is actually much greater than for lower-altitude estates.

Elida Estate has long established itself as one of Panama's most respected specialty coffee estates. Besides consistently ranking in the BOP (Best of Panama) competition each year, countless roasters and roasteries worldwide are its loyal fans.

Cupping expert Ken Davids gave Elida Estate's coffee a high score of 93 points in 2012! Elida is also a regular on the competition bean lists of contestants from various countries in the World Barista Championship (WBC). In the finals of Taiwan's TBC (Taiwan Barista Championship) and China's CBC (China Barista Championship), it's often possible to see contestants using single-origin Elida for SOE espresso.

Unique geographical conditions combined with estate owner Mr. Wilford's dedication and pursuit of coffee quality have made Elida Estate rank alongside La Esmeralda and Kotowa Duncan as one of Panama's three great estates.

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