Panama Coffee Growing Environment, Regional Flavor Characteristics Introduction: Elida Estate

The History of Elida Estate

The history of Elida Estate can be traced back to 1918. This farm is a family enterprise of the Lamastus family, and the farm's name, Elida, was named after the wife of the then farm owner, Robert Louis Lamastus.

Elida Estate is located in the Boquete region, with an altitude that is almost the highest in the entire country of Panama. Moreover, nearly half of its area is within a national protected park, making it a rare ultra-high-altitude estate in Central America! Elida Estate has a total area of 65 hectares, with more than half located within the Baru Volcano National Park. Of the estate's 30 hectares planted with coffee trees, the remaining 35 hectares are primary forest. The coffee is grown at altitudes ranging from 1,670 to 1,850 meters, making it one of the two highest-altitude coffee estates in Panama (the other estate with such altitude should be Carmen Estate located in the Volcancito Valley).

Climate and Growing Conditions

The rugged Baru is a young volcano with an altitude exceeding 3,400 meters and belongs to the active type of volcano. Due to the large temperature difference between morning and evening, coffee at Elida Estate requires 5 years of care after planting before the first harvest can be realized, making the waiting period for harvest quite long (typically, coffee in producing regions only takes 3 years). Although plant growth is slower, it greatly contributes to the development of coffee flavor. After entering the harvest period, due to temperature conditions, the maturation period of coffee often exceeds one month. When hurricanes, heavy rain, or other irresistible factors occur shortly before maturity, despite knowing it will cause significant losses, because the beans have not reached the estate's harvesting standards, a commitment to quality leads to a refusal to rush the harvest, resulting in a sharp reduction in yield! The risk is actually much greater than in lower-altitude estates.

Coffee Growing Methods in Boquete

According to FrontStreet Coffee, there are mainly three types of plantations in the Boquete region of Panama: sun-grown plantations, full-shade plantations, and semi-shade plantations. Plantations with more than 50 shade trees per hectare are considered full-shade plantations; 25-50 trees are considered semi-shade plantations, and those with fewer than 25 trees are called sun-grown plantations. So, what is the impact of shade versus no shade on coffee in two neighboring plantations under the same growing conditions?

Shade-grown plantations can slow down the maturation time of coffee cherries, allowing more flavor compounds to develop inside the coffee cherries. Therefore, shade itself increases costs and reduces yield, but the coffee flavor is higher than that of semi-shade plantations under the same growing conditions. Currently, most plantations in Colombia have a state where coffee trees grow alongside banana trees. Because Arabica varieties are increasingly dwarfed, when banana trees grow up, they provide a shading effect.

Panama Estate Geisha Coffee

Panama estate Geisha coffee beans are mostly manually selected high-quality Arabica beans, with each batch being traceable. It's possible to trace which estate plot, cooperative, or farmer the beans came from, in pursuit of regional flavors. Only by traveling to coffee-producing regions and stepping into coffee estates can one understand how that subtle foundation of coffee, charming flavors, and changing aromas come to be - whether from microclimate, variety, processing method, or the farmer's secret recipe.

Geisha Variety

Geisha refers to a coffee variety, called "Geisha/Gesha" in English, which coincidentally shares the same name as "Geisha" in Japanese, so some people also call the Geisha coffee variety "Geisha." The Geisha variety was discovered in 1931 from the Geisha forest in Ethiopia. Later, Geisha was sent to the Coffee Research Institute in Kenya, introduced to Uganda and Tanzania in 1936, to Costa Rica in 1953, and to Panama in 1970.

Initially, not many people paid attention to Geisha until Panama Esmeralda Estate, also known as Hacienda La Esmeralda, separated it from other varieties in 2003, and it became the champion of the BOP competition in 2004. It was then that the Panama Geisha coffee variety officially entered everyone's spotlight. Although the flavor of the Geisha variety is exquisite, such elegant flavor comes from specific growing environments. The Geisha variety is very particular about its growing environment, requiring cultivation in areas with high altitude, cloud and fog shade or numerous shade trees, and fertile soil. Among these, Boquete, Panama is the most representative, and the Geisha produced there is loved by the majority of coffee enthusiasts, with the renowned Esmeralda Estate also located there.

Elida Estate's Varieties and Processing

To return to the main topic, Elida Estate mainly cultivates three varieties: Catuai, Typica, and Geisha. The estate's processing plant is located halfway up the mountainside, allowing coffee to be transported to the factory for processing immediately after picking to ensure the quality of the coffee cherries is not affected. Of course, Elida's environment is also suitable for growing other high-quality temperate crops, especially tree tomatoes and some uncommon high-altitude fruits. Interestingly, the flavors of these fruits can often be found in Elida's coffee as well.

In addition to the unique ultra-high altitude and microclimate, estate owner Mr. Wilford has put considerable effort into harvesting and processing. To achieve the highest standards, Elida Estate's coffee is only allowed to be hand-picked from the ripest coffee cherries (Ripe on Pinton). The high maturity of the fruit means the pectin's sugar content is naturally high, which is the foundation for producing Elida's high-quality flavor.

In addition to being extremely strict about coffee planting and processing, estate owner Mr. Wilford is more rigorous than industry peers in the "purification" of green beans after processing. Taking Panama Elida as an example, after processing, green beans need to undergo more than 5 months of low-temperature resting to remove greenness, allowing the coffee's flavor to develop more balanced and full-bodied. (Low-temperature resting is a green bean purification concept strongly promoted by coffee master George Howell since 2006. We found that green beans from subtropical regions indeed need to be stored at low temperatures, but different processing methods and altitudes will change the duration of low-temperature resting. For Panama Elida, 5 months of low-temperature resting is optimal.)

FrontStreet Coffee's Elida Estate ASD Processed Geisha

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama · Elida Estate

Country: Panama
Region: Boquete Region
Estate: Elida Estate
Altitude: 1,900 meters
Variety: Geisha
Processing Method: Anaerobic Fermentation Low-Temperature Slow Natural

Processing Method

The processing method for this batch of beans is anaerobic fermentation low-temperature slow natural. The harvested coffee cherries are placed in sealed containers for 4-5 days of fermentation, then thick layers of coffee cherries are spread on drying beds to allow slow drying. The low-temperature slow natural processing method requires producers to invest more time and effort. Over time, slow drying allows coffee cherries to develop optimal water activity during this process, which not only leads to better flavor development but also allows green beans to be maintained longer during off-season storage. However, this method not only depends on weather conditions but also extends the time required for each batch production, increasing the cost of green beans.

FrontStreet Coffee's Pour-Over Parameters and Suggestions

Considering that different Geisha batches have different growing environments, FrontStreet Coffee's roasters make corresponding adjustments based on the characteristics of the coffee beans, but the main roasting direction is to highlight the floral aroma and fruity acidity of Geisha, using a medium-light roast.

Generally, when brewing high-altitude hard beans with prominent acidity, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using higher water temperatures of 92-93°C to extract more aromatic substances.

Dripper: V60
Water Temperature: 91-92°C
Coffee Amount: 15g
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Fine sugar size (sieved through a #20 sieve to 80%)

For brewing, FrontStreet Coffee uses segmented extraction. After grinding the coffee and pouring it into the filter paper, start pouring water from the center with 30g for a 30-second bloom. Note to use a small, steady stream throughout, spiraling from inside to outside. For the second pour, add 95g of water, and when the coffee liquid has almost finished dripping, start the third pour of 100g, until all the coffee has filtered through. The total time is approximately 2 minutes, with about 10 seconds margin for error.

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