Lamastus Estate's Three Major Farms: Don Pachi Estate Natural Geisha, Elida Estate from Boquete Growing Region, Panama, Baru Volcano Climate Environment

In 1925, a French immigrant who had settled in Panama bought a plot of land in Boquete for coffee cultivation. Because the land had previously been used for grazing, its buyer, Mr. Aristides Boutet, named the property "Don Pachi Estate" — meaning "Donkey Estate."

In just over six months, Don Pachi Estate will join Elida Estate as a century-old coffee farm, becoming the second centenary estate under the Lamastus family. Today, FrontStreet Coffee introduces you to Don Pachi, the estate about to celebrate its 100th birthday.

Don Pachi Estate

Don Pachi Estate sits in the Baru Volcano range of Boquete, Panama. You may have noticed that many of Panama's most famous coffee farms are clustered here — a consequence of the region's exceptional terroir, including Panama's unique microclimate.

Look at a map and you'll see that Panama stretches east to west in an S shape. Every winter, two air currents collide over the high-altitude reaches of the central mountain range: a cold current from Florida, USA, pushing from north to south, and a warm, moist current from the Pacific moving from west to north.

When these two very different air masses meet, they create shifting winds and frequent rainfall, producing temperatures and precipitation ideally suited to cultivation. Locals rightly call this climate one of Panama's unique and vital resources — and because Don Pachi Estate sits near these mountains, it enjoys the same benefit.

The Baru Volcano deserves special mention too, since Panama's main coffee-growing areas all center on it. Its fertile volcanic soil is rich in organic matter, and elements such as potassium and phosphorus feed the coffee trees generously, yielding more expressive flavors. It is a land that has earned the nickname "coffee paradise."

History of Don Pachi Estate

Mr. Aristides Boutet was not only the founder of Don Pachi Estate but also the grandfather of Wilford Lamastus of the Lamastus family — the family connection through which Don Pachi joined their portfolio.

For a long stretch of the past, an oversupplied market kept coffee prices stubbornly low. Many estate owners could not ride out the hard years and were forced to sell, and Mr. Aristides Boutet was among them. But Wilford and his brother Patrick Lamastus could not bear to see Don Pachi fall into outside hands, so they bought it back and kept it running.

Estate Details

Don Pachi is slightly smaller than Elida Estate, covering only about 50 hectares — still a substantial holding. Like most estates in Boquete, part of it lies within Panama's National Forest Park. Because the forest is state-protected and logging is strictly prohibited, roughly 20 hectares cannot be used for coffee.

Of the remaining 30 hectares, the Lamastus family sets aside 10 as a reserve for future planting and cultivates 20 with coffee, primarily Geisha and Catuai.

Rise to Prominence

Even so, the family's early outlook was far from rosy. To keep the estate alive and the household fed, they had to work other jobs to fund the farm's operations.

Their persistence eventually paid off. Since 2015, Don Pachi Estate has collected awards year after year, repeatedly posting excellent results at the Best of Panama (BOP) competition. In 2016, a competitor from Maruyama Coffee in Japan even won a championship using Don Pachi Estate's Geisha.

Don Pachi Estate Geisha

Naturally, FrontStreet Coffee brought in a Geisha from Don Pachi Estate to taste it for ourselves — we simply couldn't resist. This one is naturally processed: the entire coffee fruit, pulp and husk included, is dried directly in the sun until the moisture content drops into the target range, which usually takes about 2 to 4 weeks. A hulling machine then removes the husk, and the green coffee is finished.

Naturally processed beans develop richer, fuller layers of flavor, so FrontStreet Coffee roasts this Geisha to a medium-light level to showcase it at its best.

Coffee Details

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Don Pachi Estate Geisha

Country: Panama
Region: Boquete
Altitude: 1,800 meters
Variety: Geisha
Processing Method: Natural
Grade: SHB
Flavor Notes: Green grapes, apricot, floral notes, dried longan, orange

Eight hours after roasting, FrontStreet Coffee ran a cupping session. The dry aroma of this natural Geisha from Don Pachi Estate is rich with orange and floral fragrance. After breaking the crust and tasting, we found the rounded acidity of green grape and apricot, the high sweetness of orange and dried longan, delicate florals running throughout, and a faint fermented note. As the cup cools, the orange's sweet-tart character grows even more pronounced.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this Don Pachi natural Geisha sparks your interest in the variety, FrontStreet Coffee has a Geisha lineup to match every budget. For a first taste of the legendary "Geisha flavor," we usually point newcomers to our entry-level Panama Boquete Geisha: at an accessible price, it captures the classic Panamanian profile of orange-blossom aroma and honeyed sweetness, with an oolong tea-like finish, delicate fruit acidity, and clearly layered structure.

Ready to climb higher? Our Esmeralda Estate Geisha is the definitive expression: the Red Label ("Esmeralda Special") grows at 1,600 to 1,800 meters, and every batch must cup above 90 points, comes from a single named plot, and carries its own lot number. Brew it as a pour-over — Geisha is a dense, medium-light roasted bean, so a slightly coarse grind (about 78% pass through a No. 20 sieve), 91 degrees C water, and a 1:16 ratio in three pours will let those florals and juicy fruit notes fully unfold.