Flavor Description, Origin Region, and Variety Introduction of Panama Elida Geisha Coffee Beans

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Panama Elida Geisha Coffee Bean: Flavor Description, Origin, and Variety Introduction

Currently, Geisha varieties are mainly found in Panama, Colombia, Guatemala, and Costa Rica, with Panama and Colombian Geishas showing the most outstanding flavor performance.

Estate Introduction

Panama's Elida Estate is located in the renowned specialty coffee producing region of Boquete. The total area of Elida Estate is 65 hectares, with more than half located within the Baru Volcano National Park. Only 30 hectares of the estate are used for coffee cultivation, while the remainder remains pristine primary forest.

The coffee cultivation altitude ranges 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 is Carmen Estate, located in the Volcán Valley).

In such high-altitude conditions, low temperatures delay the maturation of coffee cherries by about a month compared to normal maturity periods. The fertile volcanic soil provides abundant nutrients for the coffee, and combined with the excellent microclimate brought by Baru Volcano, Elida Estate has repeatedly achieved outstanding results in cupping competitions.

Elida Estate primarily cultivates three varieties: Catuai, Typica, and Geisha. The processing plant is located halfway up the mountain, allowing coffee to be transported to the factory immediately after harvest 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.

Elida Estate is the most famous estate of the Lamastus family, founded in 1918. From the time Robert Lamastus, the founder of the Lamastus family's coffee estate, planted the first coffee tree, it has now passed through a century and witnessed the global popularization of specialty coffee.

To this day, Elida Estate continues to be managed by descendants of the Lamastus family, including estate owner Mr. Wilford, his father Thatcher, and his son/fourth-generation successor Wilford Jr. As a traditional coffee family, coffee has become integrated into their family DNA. Wilford was born on a small coffee farm, and his parents were also born on coffee farms. Currently, the coffee produced by the estate comes from Elida Estate, Burro Estate, and Luito Estate.

In addition to the exceptionally high altitude and microclimate, estate owner Mr. Wilford has also put considerable effort into harvesting and processing. To achieve the highest standards, Elida Estate's coffee can only be hand-picked from the most mature coffee cherries (Ripe on Pinton). The high maturity of the fruit naturally results in high sugar content in the mucilage, which is the foundation for Elida's excellent flavor.

Besides being extremely strict about coffee cultivation and processing, estate owner Mr. Wilford is also more rigorous than industry peers in the "purification" of green beans after processing. For Panama's Elida, after green bean processing is complete, it requires more than 5 months of low-temperature resting to remove green notes, 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 starting in 2006. We found that while green beans from subtropical regions need to be stored at low temperatures, different processing methods and altitudes can change the duration of low-temperature resting. For Panama's Elida, 5 months of low-temperature resting is optimal.)

The oldest coffee estate in Panama's history and one of the highest-altitude estates in the Boquete region, it is an estate that cultivates Geisha at ultra-high altitude (2050m). Not only has it won multiple BOP championships, but it also holds the BOP cupping score record (in 2018, Elida Green Top Washed Geisha broke the 2016 BOP Elida Green Top Washed Geisha record of 94.15 with an ultra-high score of 94.66).

Among estates in Central American countries, Elida has the most prominent "Kenyan blackberry notes," with rich and distinct aroma, complex fruit flavors that vary and persist, making it extremely beloved by connoisseurs.

The Geisha variety was discovered in 1931 in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia and then sent to Kenya's Coffee Research Institute. It was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania in 1936, and to Costa Rica in 1953. For a long time, not many people paid attention to Geisha until one day when Don Pachi initially brought it from the small town of GESHA in southwestern Ethiopia to Costa Rica. Afterward, Geisha entered Panama along the southern route, where Panama's Esmeralda Estate separated it from other varieties and it went on to win the national coffee championship.

FrontStreet Coffee recommends brewing with water at 90-92°C. Geisha has full-bodied sweetness, an extremely clean mouthfeel, and rich aromas that extend from berries and citrus to mango, papaya, and peach flavors. A very distinct bergamot-like aftertaste is also its typical cupping characteristic. To date, Geisha remains the champion among coffee varieties.

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