How Does Typica Coffee Compare with Elida Estate Natural Geisha?
Elida Estate sits in the Alto Quiel Boquete area of Chiriqui, Panama, at 1,700 to 2,300 meters, partly inside Volcan Baru National Park. Its washed and natural Geisha each took first place in their BOP categories, and the natural lot is brewed as pour-over to bring out blackberry fruit notes and a long umami finish.
The estate has been in the Lamastus family since 1918 and is now run by the third generation, with lots sorted separately across coffee farms on the property. Alongside Geisha, the estate also grows Catuai and typica coffee, so drinkers can compare a classic variety against the champion lot using the same pour-over parameters and grind setting.
As a representative of Panamanian specialty coffee, Elida Estate has won numerous awards in the Best of Panama (BOP) competition in recent years, with its washed and natural Geisha each taking first place in their respective categories. This article takes you deep into Elida Estate's terroir, lot management, and the sources of its unique flavors, and shares in detail the pour-over parameters and steps for Front Street Elida Estate Natural Geisha. At the same time, we will also introduce the Catuai and Typica coffees from the estate, allowing you to experience the diverse charm of a champion estate at once. Whether you are a seasoned enthusiast or a beginner pour-over player, you can gain practical brewing ideas from it.
For coffee lovers, the name Elida Estate should not be unfamiliar. Since 2006, the specialty lots submitted by the estate have appeared on the Best of Panama (BOP) winners' list almost every year, and prices have climbed year after year. Among the many estates in Central America, Elida is widely praised for its distinctive "blackberry fruit notes." In addition, its unique umami flavor is unforgettable—umami in coffee is often associated with a high-quality finish, such as a long-lasting and pleasant sweet aftertaste left after slurping, all of which are manifestations of umami flavor.
This year, Elida Estate's washed and natural Geisha each took first place in the BOP washed and natural categories. This time we have brought these two Geishas from Front Street Elida Estate as well as two other coffees, giving everyone the chance to taste different champion flavors all at once.
Elida Estate
Elida Estate is located in the Alto Quiel Boquete production area of Chiriqui Province, Panama. From 1918, when Robert Lamastus planted the first coffee tree at Elida Estate, it has been nearly a hundred years, and the estate is currently managed by Mr. Wilford, the third generation of the Lamastus family.
Elida Estate's elevation range extends from 1,700 meters to 2,300 meters, with part of the area located within Panama's Volcan Baru National Park (VBNP), a refuge for rare plants, birds, and mammals. Volcan Baru National Park (VBNP) is one of the highest volcanoes in Central America, covering 14,000 hectares and divided into seven different climate zones by altitude. Both Elida Estate and El Burro Estate belong to it.
Elida Estate has a total area of 65 hectares, of which only 30 hectares are used for growing coffee, with varieties including Catuai, Geisha, and Typica, while the remaining areas are within the VBNP protected ecological reserve. Wilford has already tried planting Geisha at elevations above 2,050 meters (currently not yet in production). In the Boquete region, there had never before been a record of coffee produced at such a high altitude.
Over the years, Wilford has continued to optimize lot management, providing high-quality Elida coffee in three processing methods: washed, honey, and natural; roasters around the world select their preferred micro-lots based on cupping flavor performance. In 2018, Wilford completed more than 450 lots of coffee. After cupping several lots, we ultimately selected two Front Street Elida Geisha coffees, as well as one Catuai and one Typica.
Coffee flavor comes from unique climate and geographical conditions. The excellence of Front Street Elida Estate coffee is mainly due to the following reasons: the estate is one of the highest-altitude coffee farms in Panama; the coffee grows in young volcanic soil rich in minerals; the ambient temperature is lower; the growing area is shrouded in clouds and mist year-round, which can avoid direct exposure to sunlight during the dry season; wild trees in the primitive tropical rainforest bring a large number of beneficial microorganisms; cold nights extend the coffee tree's maturity cycle to four and a half to six and a half years (2 to 4 years longer than average); at the same time, the ripening time of the coffee cherries is also delayed by one month. These factors all affect the flavor of the final coffee produced.
Front Street Panama Elida Estate Natural Geisha
First place in the BOP Natural category
Plot: Avocado plot
Altitude: above 1,900 meters
Coffee variety: Geisha
Processing method: Natural
Dominant flavors: jackfruit, lychee, pineapple, cream
How to brew Front Street Panama Elida Estate Geisha well?
FrontStreet Coffee pour-over reference: Weigh 15g of [Front Street Elida Estate Geisha] coffee grounds, grind to the consistency of fine granulated sugar, control the water temperature at 91°C, and use a cake cup for extraction.
Using the center of the dripper as the circle's center, pour hot water from the gooseneck kettle in a clockwise circular motion while starting the timer. At 15 seconds, pour until the coffee reaches 30g, then stop pouring; when the time reaches 1 minute, perform the second pour. The second pour uses the same technique as the first, drawing a clockwise circle centered on the dripper, taking care that the water stream does not hit the edge where the coffee grounds meet the filter paper, to avoid channeling.
Pour until the coffee grounds reach the outermost ring, leaving a ring's distance, then pour in circles toward the center again. At 2 minutes 20 seconds, pour until the coffee liquid reaches 220g, and the brewing is complete.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
