Boquete Panama Coffee Estate - Panama Elida Estate Variety Processing Method Flavor Introduction

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FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Elida Estate in Panama

Robert Lamastus founded Elida Estate in the early 20th century. At that time, he was originally working on the Panama Canal and heard that Boquete was particularly suitable for coffee cultivation, so he bought it. The estate is now managed by his grandson Wilford Lamastus. Under Wilford's efforts, Elida has become one of Panama's premier estates, frequently making it to the final bidding list of "Best of Panama."

Half of the estate's area is located within the "Volcan Baru National Park," making it an ecological conservation area and thus a habitat for many animals and plants. Various rare mammals such as mountain leopards and birds like long-tailed birds can be found here, with extremely rich biodiversity.

Volcan Baru is also one of the highest volcanoes in Central America, with 7 microclimates depending on different altitudes. Elida's coffee is only grown up to 1850 meters above sea level - in Panama, coffee is not cultivated at higher altitudes than this. The rainy season is very long, lasting from May to November, with annual rainfall reaching 2400mm. The period with abundant sunshine extends from late February to early May. Even during the dry season, the mountainous areas remain foggy and humid, with relatively low temperatures and even colder nights.

The coffee is covered year-round by pristine forests shrouded in clouds and mist, providing an excellent shaded growing environment. The coffee trees at Elida require a longer time to harvest from planting seedlings - approximately four and a half to five and a half years (two to three years longer than average). The low-temperature environment also means the cherries take an extra month to mature. These factors all contribute to the coffee's unique flavor profile. The estate primarily processes cherries using the washed method, with a small portion using the natural processing method.

The natural processing method involves drying the coffee beans while still inside the fruit pulp, allowing the pulp's flavors to easily penetrate into the beans. For drying purposes, cherry fruits are moved from higher-altitude growing areas to lower-altitude, warmer drying fields, where natural drying continues for 10 to 12 days.

Compared to washed coffees, natural processed coffees typically have a fuller body, but the biggest challenge lies in the fermentation process during drying. Elida's natural processing is exceptionally refined, producing coffee with complex flavors, intense fruit notes, and full-bodied aroma. The estate is particularly experienced in handling traditional varieties like Typica and Catuai using this method.

During natural processing, cherries are processed separately by harvest date, so each batch consists of coffee harvested and processed on the same day, with an average of five bags per batch. After approximately 10-12 days of low-temperature natural drying, the parchment beans are stored in warehouses at 10-12°C for 75-100 days of maturation, until hulling and hand-sorting are performed in the week of shipment.

Knowledge Extension

Elida Estate achieved remarkable results at the 2018 BOP (Best of Panama), winning three major awards: champion in both the Geisha Natural and Washed categories, as well as Estate of the Year. The Green Top Washed Geisha also broke the 2016 BOP record for Elida Green Top Washed Geisha with an exceptionally high score of 94.66 (surpassing the 2016 record of 94.15).

In Summary

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