How do Elida Geisha and Typica differ in processing and flavor?

Elida Estate sits in Boquete, Panama, at roughly 1,850 to 1,900 meters, with a century of farming history. Its Geisha lot, processed by anaerobic fermentation and low-temperature slow sun-drying, shows richer layering than other Panama Geishas, while the sun-dried typica coffee from the same estate offers a distinct profile for comparison.

Boquete's microclimate near Baru Volcano supports these arabica coffee varieties at high altitude, where cool air converges above the central mountain range. Cupping both lots side by side shows how variety and processing interact on one estate. For a home cold brew, use a coarse grind and a long steep, then dilute to taste for a full-bodied, juicy iced cup.

Located in the Boquete region of Panama, Elida Estate has a century-long history and high-altitude microclimate conditions, and its Geisha and Typica coffee beans each have distinctive characteristics. Using Elida Estate's anaerobic fermentation low-temperature slow sun-dried Geisha and sun-dried Typica as examples, Front Street Coffee explains them one by one from producing region background, variety characteristics, green bean analysis, roasting curves, to cupping flavors and brewing parameters. The article also shares a home method for making cold brew coffee, helping coffee lovers make a cup of full-bodied, juicy Geisha iced coffee at home.

Elida Estate in Panama has a history of over a hundred years and produces coffee of outstanding quality. Last year, one of the estate's Geisha beans won the championship in the Geisha processing category at the BOP competition. Front Street Coffee selected Elida Geisha from the same plot and same altitude for tasting. When Geisha is mentioned, one naturally cannot avoid another famous estate in Panama—Hacienda La Esmeralda. Front Street Coffee compared these two Geishas from different estates side by side and found that because of different processing methods, Elida Geisha is richer in layering than Panama Geisha. Front Street Coffee also conducted a comparative tasting between Elida's Geisha and Typica to see the differences between different varieties on the same estate.

Panama—Elida Estate Geisha

Region: Boquete, 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, Panama

Estate: Elida Estate

Altitude: 1,850 meters

Variety: Typica

Processing method: Sun-dried

Boquete Producing Region

Elida Estate in Panama is located in the renowned specialty coffee region of Boquete. Boquete is a small town in Chiriqui Province, located in the border area between Panama and Costa Rica, near the famous Baru Volcano, with beautiful scenery, fertile soil, and a climate and soil quality very suitable for growing high-quality coffee. The microclimate enjoyed by the Boquete highlands is a key resource that local specialty coffee cannot replicate. Panama's east-west topography causes cold air to flow through the central mountain range and converge above 6,500 feet, thereby forming multiple microclimates around Boquete, with temperatures and rainfall highly favorable for plant growth.

Elida Estate

Elida Estate covers a total area of 65 hectares, more than half of which lies within the boundaries of Baru Volcano National Park. Only 30 hectares are used for growing coffee, while the rest remains in its original forest state. Coffee is grown at altitudes ranging from 1,670 meters to 1,850 meters, making it one of the two highest-altitude coffee estates in Panama (the other estate at the same altitude is Carmen Estate in the Volcan Valley).

Such high altitude brings low temperatures, extending the ripening period of coffee cherries by about one month longer than normal. Fertile volcanic soil provides abundant nutrients for the coffee, and combined with the excellent microclimate brought by Baru Volcano, Elida Estate has been able to achieve repeated success in cupping competitions.

The history of Elida Estate can be traced back to 1918. This property belongs to the Lamastus family, and the estate name "Elida" comes from the name of the wife of then-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 fruit quality is not affected. Of course, Elida Estate's environment is also suitable for growing other high-quality temperate crops, especially tree tomatoes and some rare high-altitude fruits.

Speaking of this, Front Street Coffee often encounters people asking: if coffee is grown together with other crops, will the flavor take on the taste of those crops? For example, Elida Estate grows fruits such as tree tomatoes, and when Front Street Coffee tasted Elida coffee, it indeed found rich and full fruit notes. But Front Street Coffee wants to remind everyone not to be misled by this coincidence. Overall, coffee flavor is determined jointly by variety, altitude, processing method, and roasting—none can be missing. This is also the current basis for evaluating specialty coffee, and it is exactly the idea Front Street Coffee has always conveyed—understanding coffee should not be based only on surface impressions.

In addition to its exceptional ultra-high altitude and microclimate, estate owner Mr. Wilford has also put great effort into harvesting and processing. To meet the highest standards, Elida Estate allows only hand-picking of the ripest coffee cherries (Ripe on Pinton). With a high degree of ripeness, the pectin naturally has high sugar content, and this is also the foundation of Elida's high-quality flavor. In addition to being extremely strict about cultivation and processing, Mr. Wilford is also more rigorous than his peers in the "purification" stage after green bean processing.

Catuai

Catuai comes from the Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC) in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and is a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra. The plant is short, and when planted in large quantities it can be arranged closely, with planting density almost twice that of Bourbon, and yield also considerably higher than Bourbon. Although its resistance to pests and diseases is not strong, its plant structure makes manual prevention and control relatively easy. In addition to high yield, Catuai cherries do not easily fall after ripening and have strong resistance to wind and rain, making it well liked in windy and rainy producing regions.

Front Street Coffee conducted a cupping evaluation of Elida Estate Catuai. The coffee has fermented wine aroma and rose floral notes, with berry, citrus, and green tea flavors on the palate, a creamy and nutty finish, and sugarcane sweetness, overall balanced.

Typica

Typica is the oldest native variety from Ethiopia, with bronze-colored young leaves and oval or slender pointed beans. Typica has an elegant flavor, but the plant is weak, has poor disease resistance, and low yield. Familiar 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 Kenya Coffee Research Institute. In 1936 it was introduced to Uganda and Tanzania, in 1953 to Costa Rica, and then entered Panama along the southern route. Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama separated it from other varieties and won the national coffee competition championship in one stroke, and only then did Geisha formally enter the public eye. Geisha is especially picky about its growing environment and requires high altitude, cloud and shade, 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 Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha coffee. 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 repeatedly breaking auction records and other achievements, all of this has created Hacienda La Esmeralda's current success.

Front Street Coffee—2020 New Crop Panama Blue Label Geisha

Region: Boquete

Estate: Hacienda La Esmeralda

Altitude: 1500m

Variety: Geisha

Processing method: Washed

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, with lasting sweetness.

Coffee Bean Processing Methods

Sun-dried Processing

The sun-dried method reduces the moisture content of coffee 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. Even today, a considerable portion of the world's coffee production still uses the sun-dried method. However, Elida Estate has made careful 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 fuller way. Low-temperature resting is a green bean purification concept strongly promoted by coffee master George Howell starting in 2006. Different processing methods and altitudes will change the time required for 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 the championship in last year's BOP Geisha processing category in one stroke. The harvested coffee cherries are placed in sealed containers to ferment for 4-5 days, and then a thick layer of coffee cherries is spread on drying beds to allow slow drying. 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 effort. And nurtured by time, slow drying allows coffee cherries to develop the best water activity during this process. This results not only in better flavor development, but also allows green beans to maintain quality longer during storage in the production cycle. But at the same time, this method not only depends on the weather and requires climatic cooperation, but also extends the time needed for each batch of production, increasing 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 faint fermented 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 characterized by body and sweetness, with less obvious acidity.

Elida Estate Typica

Typica is one of the oldest Arabica coffee varieties discovered to date, along with another called Bourbon. The Arabica species originated in Ethiopia, and this species still grows naturally in the local primitive rainforest highlands today.

Typica beans are slender, the tree is tall, the fruit is oval, and the branches are slightly inclined. Typica has four long, spreading branches with an inclination angle of 50-70 degrees. The coffee yield per tree is very low, but the cupping score is very high.

Roasting Suggestions

Elida Estate Geisha

Elida Geisha also has slender beans. The green beans look yellow-green and smell of snow pear, orange, and a faint fermented aroma. Front Street Coffee uses a light roast approach. This coffee's particles and density are medium, and during roasting it also absorbs a relatively large amount of heat, while the Maillard reaction proceeds relatively quickly. Front Street Coffee opens the air damper when the beans begin to turn yellow, developing more fermented aroma and enhancing its sweetness and balance.

Charge when the drum temperature reaches 160°C, with power at 100, air damper set to 3, turning point at 1'42''. When the drum temperature is 146°C, open the air 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 power to 80, with the air damper unchanged;

At 7'31'', ugly wrinkles and dark patches 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 power to 50, fully open the air damper to 5, develop for 1'45'' after first crack, and drop at 194.5°C.

Elida Estate Typica

Elida Typica has slender beans, 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 lacks the clean, intense character 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 power must be sufficient; otherwise, the expected drop temperature cannot be reached and the degree of caramelization will be insufficient. Front Street Coffee uses a coasting 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. Throughout the roasting process, the beans are in an endothermic state; 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: coasting emphasizes that with the heat turned off, the residual heat of the drum and the heat released by the beans during the cracking stage are used 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 air damper to 3, after 30 seconds adjust power to 140°C, keep the air damper unchanged, turning point at 1'25''. Adjust power once at 140°C. At this time, the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and dehydration is complete. Adjust power to 110°C and the air damper to 4;

At 8'45'', ugly wrinkles and dark patches 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 power to 90°C, adjust the air damper to 4 (adjusting power must be very careful, not so low that there is no cracking sound), develop for 1'45'' after first crack, and drop at 190°C.

Cupping Flavor

Elida Estate Geisha

Dry aroma: Floral

Wet aroma: Berry, fermented 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 sensation, 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 a No. 20 standard sieve.

Front Street Coffee uses staged extraction, that is, 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 water until 225 grams, then 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 faint fermented 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 sensations.

As the perceived temperature gradually rises to well over thirty degrees, every～single～day Front Street's backend receives at least one message asking us to write about cold brew coffee. Since everyone is so insistent, Front Street will now use the Elida Estate sun-dried Geisha introduced this time as an example to explain how to make a cup of full-bodied, juicy Geisha iced coffee at home～

Front Street Coffee's cold brew preparation parameters are: 50g grounds, 1:12 coffee-to-water ratio, steeping time 8~12 hours.

The preparation method is: first put the coffee grounds and room-temperature water into a sealed bottle, stir evenly, then seal and place in the refrigerator to chill. The next day, or after waiting 8~12 hours, take it out and filter. The filtered coffee is the cold brew ready to enjoy~

Because filtering cannot remove all the fine particles and oils, cold brew coffee has a fuller mouthfeel because of their presence. At the same time, because the extraction is relatively even, it tastes with more prominent sweetness and a richer fruit aroma.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.