How Does Panama Geisha Compare with Typica at Elida Estate?
Elida Estate sits in Panama's Boquete producing region at roughly 1,850 to 1,900 meters, and a Geisha from the estate took first place in the Geisha processing group of the BOP competition. A comparative tasting of Geisha and Typica from the same plot and similar altitude showed how far varieties diverge on one farm.
The two lots differ most in coffee processing. The Geisha was anaerobically fermented and slow sun-dried at low temperature, which gives it richer, more complex layering than Geisha from other estates, while the Typica was simply sun-dried. Roast curves and cupping flavors were compared one by one to map the gap.
Located in the Boquete producing region of Panama, Elida Estate has a century-long history and an ultra-high-altitude growing environment, making it a star estate that attracts much attention in the specialty coffee world. Front Street Coffee selected Geisha and Typica from the same plot and similar altitude at Elida Estate for a comparative tasting, breaking down the performance of the two beans one by one from variety characteristics, processing method differences, roasting curves, and cupping flavors. The article also provides an in-depth introduction to the estate's growing conditions, the characteristics of the Catuai variety, and how the anaerobic fermentation low-temperature slow sun-dried process achieves championship-level Geisha. Whether you want to understand the flavor differences between Geisha and Typica, or are interested in processing methods and roasting details, you can gain valuable reference from it.
Elida Estate occupies an important position in Panama's coffee landscape. Having passed through more than a hundred years, the quality of the coffee it produces has always been highly recognized. Last year, a Geisha bean from the estate took first place in the Geisha processing group of the BOP competition. Front Street Coffee this time selected Elida Geisha from the same plot and same altitude as the award-winning batch for tasting. When talking about Geisha, one naturally cannot avoid another famous Panamanian estate—Hacienda La Esmeralda. After comparing the Geisha from these two estates side by side, Front Street Coffee found that because the processing methods used are different, Elida Geisha is richer and more complex in layering than Panama Geisha. In addition, Front Street Coffee also conducted a comparative tasting of Elida's Geisha and Typica, using this to observe just how large the gap is between different varieties on the same estate.
Panama—Elida Estate Geisha
Region: Boquete producing region, Panama
Estate: Elida Estate
Altitude: 1,900 meters
Variety: Geisha
Processing method: Anaerobic fermentation low-temperature slow sun-dried
Panama—Elida Estate Typica
Region: Boquete producing region, Panama
Estate: Elida Estate
Altitude: 1,850 meters
Variety: Typica
Processing method: Sun-dried
Boquete producing region Boquete
Elida Estate is located in Boquete, Panama's renowned specialty coffee producing area. Boquete is a town under Chiriqui Province, situated along the border between Panama and Costa Rica, close to the famous Baru Volcano, with beautiful scenery and nutrient-rich soil. Its climate and soil are very suitable for growing high-quality coffee. The microclimate of the Boquete highlands is a core resource that local specialty coffee cannot replicate. Panama's east-west topography causes cold air to flow through the central mountain range and converge at areas above 6,500 feet in elevation, thereby forming multiple different microclimates around Boquete, with temperature and rainfall conditions quite favorable for plant growth.
Elida Estate Elida Estate
Elida Estate covers 65 hectares, of which more than half lies within the boundaries of Baru Volcano National Park. Only 30 hectares are actually used for growing coffee trees, while the remaining land remains in its original forest state. Coffee cultivation extends from 1,670 meters to 1,850 meters above sea level, making it one of Panama's two highest-altitude coffee estates (the other estate at the same altitude is Carmen Estate in the Volcan Valley).
Under such high-altitude conditions, low temperatures cause the maturation period of coffee cherries to be prolonged, ripening about a full month later than normal. The fertile volcanic soil provides abundant nutrients for the coffee, and combined with the superior microclimate brought by Baru Volcano, Elida Estate is therefore able to achieve frequent excellent results in cupping competitions.
The history of Elida Estate can be traced back as early as 1918. The estate is owned by the Lamastus family, and the name "Elida" comes from the name of the wife of the then estate owner, Robert Louis Lamastus.
Coffee bean varieties
Elida Estate mainly cultivates three coffee varieties: Catuai, Typica, and Geisha. The estate's processing plant is located halfway up the mountain, so after picking, the coffee can be sent to the factory for processing immediately, ensuring that the quality of the coffee cherries is not affected. Of course, Elida Estate's natural conditions are also suitable for cultivating other high-quality temperate crops, especially tree tomatoes and some uncommon high-altitude fruits.
Speaking of this, Front Street Coffee often encounters people asking this question: if coffee is planted together with other crops, will the coffee flavor take on the taste of those crops? For example, Elida Estate, as just mentioned, grows fruits such as tree tomatoes, and when Front Street Coffee tastes Elida coffee, it indeed tastes full and rich fruit flavors. But Front Street Coffee wants to remind everyone not to be misled by this coincidence. Overall, the formation of coffee flavor is jointly determined by variety, altitude, processing method, and roasting, none of which can be missing. This is also the basis for evaluating specialty coffee today, and it has always been the concept that Front Street Coffee conveys—understanding coffee cannot stop at surface appearances.
In addition to its exceptional ultra-high altitude and microclimate, the estate owner Mr. Wilford has also invested considerable effort in harvesting and processing. In order to meet the highest standards, Elida Estate allows only hand-picking of the ripest coffee cherries (Ripe on Pinton). The high degree of ripeness of the fruit naturally means high sugar content in the mucilage, and this is also the foundation for Elida's high-quality flavor formation. Mr. Wilford is not only extremely strict about coffee cultivation and processing, but also more rigorous than peers in the "purification" stage after green bean processing.
Catuai
Catuai originated from the Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC) in São Paulo, Brazil, and is a hybrid variety of Mundo Novo and Caturra. Because the plant is short, it can be planted closely in dense rows during large-scale cultivation, with a planting density almost twice that of Bourbon coffee, and therefore its yield is also much higher than that of Bourbon. In addition, although its resistance to pests and diseases is not considered strong, the advantage of its plant shape makes manual pest and disease management relatively easier. Besides higher yield, Catuai cherries do not easily fall after ripening and have strong resistance to wind and rain, so it is favored in windy and rainy producing regions.
Front Street Coffee conducted a cupping evaluation of Elida Estate Catuai. Its coffee has fermented wine aromas and rose floral notes, with berry, citrus, and green tea flavors on the palate, a creamy, nutty finish and sugarcane sweetness, and an overall balanced profile.
Typica
Typica is the oldest native variety in Ethiopia, with bronze-colored growing tips and oval or slender pointed beans. Typica has an elegant flavor, but the plant is weak, has poor disease resistance, and low fruit yield. Well-known coffees such as Mandheling, Blue Mountain, Maragogype, Yunnan small round beans, and Geisha are all derivatives of Typica.
Geisha
Geisha was discovered in 1931 in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia, and was later sent to the coffee research institute in Kenya. In 1936 it was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania, in 1953 to Costa Rica, and then entered Panama along the southern route. Panama's Esmeralda Estate separated it from other varieties and went on to win the national coffee competition championship, and only then did Geisha formally enter everyone's field of vision. Geisha coffee is especially picky about its growing environment, requiring high altitude, shading by clouds and mist, fertile soil, and sufficient accumulated heat. Geisha beans are slender and pointed, making them easy to identify.
When mentioning the Geisha variety, one cannot avoid the Geisha coffee of Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda. Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha can be said to be one of the top estates in the specialty coffee field, known to everyone in the coffee world. Front Street Coffee believes that whether as the discoverer and promoter of Geisha flavor or through its repeated records in auctions, these achievements have created Hacienda La Esmeralda as it is today.
Front Street Coffee—2020 New Crop Panama Blue Label Geisha
Region: Boquete
Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda
Altitude: 1500m
Variety: Geisha
Processing method: Washed process
Flavor: Light jasmine and citrus aromas, with obvious citrus and smoked plum on the palate, fresh and bright acidity, nuts in the middle, honey sweetness in the finish, and lasting sweetness.
Coffee bean processing methods
Sun-dried processing method
The sun-dried method lowers the coffee's moisture content through a certain period of drying in the sun. The sun-dried method is the oldest processing method among all coffee processing methods and has been passed down since coffee entered large-scale production. To this day, a considerable portion of the world's coffee production still uses the sun-dried processing method. However, Elida Estate has made meticulous adjustments on the basis of sun-dried processing. After green bean processing is completed, the beans need to undergo more than 5 months of low-temperature Resting to remove greenness, which allows the coffee's flavor to develop in a more balanced and full way. Low-temperature Resting is a green bean purification concept promoted vigorously by coffee master George Howell starting in 2006. Different processing methods and altitudes will change the duration of low-temperature Resting. For Elida Estate, 5 months of low-temperature Resting is optimal.
Anaerobic fermentation low-temperature slow sun-dried
Elida Estate, long known for its expertise in traditional sun-dried processing, after years of experimentation, finally mastered the craft of this NATURAL-ASD (anaerobic fermentation low-temperature slow sun-dried) processing method last year. And with Geisha processed this way, it won first place in last year's BOP Geisha processing group. The harvested coffee cherries are placed in sealed containers to ferment for 4-5 days, then spread thickly on drying beds to allow them to dry slowly. By regulating the "drying rate" to create the level of activity of specific types of microorganisms, thereby regulating the type and degree of fermentation to a certain extent, this is the specialty of current estate owner Wilford Jr.
The low-temperature slow sun-dried processing method requires producers to invest more time and energy. But nurtured by time, slow drying allows the coffee cherries to develop optimal water activity during this process. In this way, first, flavor development is good, and second, green beans can also be maintained longer during seasonal cycle storage. But at the same time, this method not only depends on the weather and requires climatic cooperation, but also prolongs the time required for each batch of production and increases the cost of green beans.
Green bean analysis
Elida Estate Geisha
The variety of this bean is Geisha. The green beans look yellow-green and smell of snow pear, orange, and a light fermentation aroma.
Green Tip Geisha and Bronze Tip Geisha varieties. Green Tip Geisha is characterized by floral aroma, strong acidity, and sweetness. In contrast, Bronze Tip Geisha is mainly notable for body and sweetness, with less obvious acidity.
Elida Estate Typica
Typica is one of the oldest varieties of Arabica coffee trees discovered today, and the other is called Bourbon. The Arabica species originated in Ethiopia, and this species still grows naturally in the local highland primeval rainforest today.
Typica beans are slender, the tree is tall, the fruit is oval, and the branches are slightly inclined. Typica's four branches are slender and spread out, with an inclination angle of 50 to 70 degrees. The coffee yield of each tree is very low, but the cupping score is very high.
Roasting suggestions
Elida Estate Geisha
Elida Geisha, the bean body is also slender, the green beans look yellow-green, and they smell of snow pear, orange, and a light fermentation aroma. Front Street Coffee uses a light roast approach. This coffee's particle size and density are medium, and during roasting it also absorbs a relatively large amount of heat, while the Maillard reaction process is also relatively fast. Front Street Coffee opens the damper when the bean body begins to turn yellow, developing more fermentation aroma and enhancing its sweetness and balance.
Charge when the drum temperature reaches 160°C, with heat at 100 and damper set to 3. The turning point is 1'42''. When the drum temperature is 146°C, open the damper to 4. When the drum temperature is 146°C, the bean surface turns yellow and the grassy smell completely disappears; when the drum temperature is 166°C, reduce the heat to 80 and keep the damper unchanged;
At 7'31'', ugly wrinkles and dark斑 patterns appear on the bean surface, and the toasted bread smell clearly turns into coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 8'28'', first crack begins. Reduce the heat to 50 and open the damper fully to 5. After first crack, develop for 1'45'' and drop at 194.5°C.
Elida Estate Typica
Elida Typica beans are slender, and the green beans appear yellow-green. Front Street Coffee uses a light-medium roast approach. The roasting idea is to charge at a relatively low temperature. Although this does not have the clean, intense quality of charging at high temperature, the advantage is that the mouthfeel will be very soft and smooth. Because the development time after first crack is very short, the heat must be sufficient; otherwise, the expected drop temperature cannot be reached and the degree of caramelization will be insufficient. Front Street Coffee will use a gliding action, through which the temperature is lowered or the heat is turned off and the temperature of the drum is used to continue roasting the beans. During the entire roasting process, the beans are in an endothermic action; only first crack and second crack are exothermic actions. During these two stages, it is best not to increase the heat for roasting, otherwise the beans can easily have a spicy sensation.
Front Street Coffee adds one point: gliding emphasizes, with the heat turned off, using the residual heat of the drum and the temperature generated by the beans releasing heat during the cracking stage to allow the roasted beans to continue roasting slowly.
Roaster Yangjia 600g semi-direct fire
Charge when the drum temperature reaches 170°C, set the damper to 3, adjust the heat to 140°C after 30 seconds, keep the damper unchanged, the turning point is 1'25'', adjust the heat once at 140°C. At this time the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and dehydration is complete. Adjust the heat to 110°C and the damper to 4;
At 8'45'', ugly wrinkles and dark斑 patterns appear on the bean surface, and the toasted bread smell clearly turns into coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 9'07'', first crack begins. Reduce the heat to 90°C and adjust the damper to 4 (adjusting the heat must be very careful; do not reduce it so much that there is no cracking sound). After first crack, 1'45'', drop at 190°C.
Cupping flavor
Elida Estate Geisha
Dry aroma: Floral
Wet aroma: Berry, fermentation aroma
Palate: Smooth on entry, orange, guava, pomelo, apricot, honey, cream, high cleanliness.
Elida Estate Typica
Dry aroma: Caramel, roasted almond, floral
Wet aroma: Jackfruit, fermented wine aroma
Palate: Smooth on entry, raisin, peach, orange, melon, sugarcane, caramel flavors are obvious, green tea tea-like body, high cleanliness.
Brewing demonstration
Front Street Coffee's brewing parameters are: V60 dripper, water temperature 90°C, coffee-to-water ratio 1:15, grind size based on 80% passing through a No. 20 standard sieve.
Front Street Coffee uses staged extraction, namely a three-stage pouring method. Use 30 grams of water for blooming, with a blooming time of 30 seconds. Pour 95 grams of water in a small stream in circles, that is, divide the stages at 125 grams of water. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 225 grams and finish. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. Extraction time 2.00 (including blooming time).
Flavor description
Elida Estate Anaerobic Fermentation Low-Temperature Sun-Dried Geisha
It smells of light fermentation aroma and floral notes. On the palate there are grapefruit, lemon, and guava flavors, with honey sweetness in the middle and a black tea finish.
Elida Estate Sun-Dried Typica
On the palate, peach, raisin, and orange flavors are clearly noticeable. Gradually, sugarcane and melon sweetness emerge, and the finish carries grapefruit and green tea tea-like flavors.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
