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Panama Elida Estate

Panama · Elida Estate

Region: Boquete, Panama

Estate: Elida Estate

Altitude: 1900 meters

Variety: Gesha

Processing Method: Slow-Dried Natural

| Boquete, Panama

Boquete is a town in the Chiriquí Province of Panama, located near the border with Costa Rica and close to the famous Barú Volcano. It boasts stunning scenery, fertile and rich soil, and a climate and soil perfectly suited for producing high-quality coffee.

The microclimate found in the highlands of Boquete, Panama, is a unique and vital resource for the region’s specialty coffee. This is due to the east-to-west environmental flow in Panama, where cold air currents converge over the Central Mountain Range at elevations above 6,500 feet, creating diverse microclimates in the Boquete area. These conditions provide ideal temperatures and rainfall for plant growth, allowing coffee trees to thrive exceptionally well.

| Elida Estate

Over half of Elida Estate’s land lies within the preserved area of Panama’s Volcán Barú National Park. Barú Volcano is one of the tallest volcanoes in Central America, spanning 14,000 hectares and encompassing seven distinct climate zones. Elida Estate is one of the rare ultra-high-altitude farms in Central America, with coffee planted between 1,670 and 1,850 meters above sea level—making it one of only two farms in Panama at such elevations. (The other is the Finca Carmen in the Volcán Valley.)

Elida Estate is the most renowned farm of the Lamastus family, established in 1918. Since Robert Lamastus, the founder of the family’s coffee legacy, planted the first coffee tree, the estate has passed a century and witnessed the global rise of specialty coffee.

In this high-altitude environment, cooler temperatures delay the ripening period of coffee cherries by nearly a month compared to normal. The fertile volcanic soil provides ample nutrients, and the excellent microclimate brought by Barú Volcano enables Elida Estate to consistently achieve top results in cupping competitions. To this day, Elida Estate remains in the hands of the Lamastus family, including owner Mr. Wilford, his father Thatcher, and his son—the fourth-generation successor, Wilford Jr.

Elida Estate primarily grows three varieties: Catuai, Typica, and Gesha. The processing facility is located halfway up the mountain, ensuring harvested coffee cherries can be transported to the mill immediately to preserve their quality.

| Elida Estate’s Award Record

Not only has it won the BOP championship multiple times, but it also holds the record for the highest BOP cupping score (in 2018, Elida Green Tip Washed Gesha scored an extraordinary 94.66, breaking its own previous record of 94.15 set in 2016). In this year’s BOP competition, the champion of the Gesha Processing Methods category—Elida ASD Natural Gesha—achieved a remarkable score of 95.25, once again breaking its own BOP record.

| Green Bean Analysis

This coffee is of the Gesha variety. The green beans appear yellow-green and emit aromas of Asian pear, orange, and subtle fermentation notes.

The Green Tip Gesha and Bronze Tip Gesha varieties differ in profile. Green Tip Gesha is characterized by floral aromas, intense acidity, and pronounced sweetness. In contrast, Bronze Tip Gesha emphasizes body and sweetness, with less prominent acidity.

| Processing Method

The beans used by Front Street did not undergo anaerobic fermentation; instead, they were processed using a slow-dried natural method. The harvested coffee cherries were fermented in sealed containers for 4–5 days, then spread thickly on raised beds to dry slowly.

The slow-dried natural process demands more time and effort from producers. However, the prolonged drying period allows the coffee cherries to develop optimal water activity—enhancing flavor development while also extending the beans’ shelf life across harvest cycles. This method is highly weather-dependent and extends production time per batch, thereby increasing green bean costs.

Elida Estate, long known for its expertise in traditional natural processing, finally mastered the NATURAL-ASD (Anaerobic Slow-Dried) technique after years of experimentation. This year, their Gesha processed with this method claimed the BOP championship in the Gesha Processing Group.