Why does the geisha coffee variety thrive at Elida Estate?

Panama's Elida Estate sits in the Boquete region at 1,670 to 1,850 meters, with more than half its land inside Volcán Barú National Park. The Lamastus family grows Catuai, Typica and the geisha coffee variety across 30 of 65 hectares, keeping 35 hectares as primary forest. Slow growth and wide day-night temperature swings concentrate flavor.

Founded in 1918 and named after the owner's wife, Elida requires five years from planting to first harvest, longer than the three years typical elsewhere. Cherry ripening can stretch past a month, and hurricanes or heavy rain near harvest cause major losses. Coffee cultivation here benefits from young volcanic soil above 3,400 meters on Volcán Barú, and brewing notes come from an Elida ASD Geisha sample.

In the Boquete specialty region of Panama, there is a coffee estate whose altitude is almost unmatched in the country—Elida. It belongs to the Lamastus family, with more than half of its area located within Volcán Barú National Park, and coffee cultivation ranging from 1,670 meters up to 1,850 meters. Here, after planting, it takes five years before the first harvest; the maturation period is long, but this is precisely what nurtures richer flavors. The estate mainly cultivates three varieties: Catuai, Typica, and Geisha, with Geisha being the most notable. This article will take you into Elida's microclimate, shade-growing methods, rigorous harvesting and green bean purification processes, and share specific brewing parameters using Front Street Coffee's Elida ASD Geisha as an example.

The origins of Elida Estate can be traced back to 1918. It belongs to the Lamastus family holdings, and the name "Elida" was taken from the name of the wife of the estate owner at the time, Robert Louis Lamastus.

The estate is located in the Boquete specialty region, with an altitude that is almost second to none in all of Panama, and nearly half of its land is included within the boundaries of a national protected park. Such an ultra-high-altitude estate is truly rare in Central America. Elida has a total area of 65 hectares, of which more than half is located within Volcán Barú National Park, 30 hectares are used for growing coffee, and the other 35 hectares remain in a state of primary forest. The coffee trees grow at altitudes between 1,670 meters and 1,850 meters, and together with Carmen Estate in the Volcán Valley, it is one of the two highest-altitude coffee estates in Panama.

Volcán Barú is steep and is a young active volcano with an altitude of more than 3,400 meters. Affected by the huge temperature difference between day and night, Elida's coffee requires a full five years of care from sowing to first harvest, a rather long waiting period (ordinary producing regions require only three years). Although the plants grow slowly, this is greatly beneficial to the accumulation of coffee flavor. After the harvest season begins, temperature conditions often make the ripening period of the coffee cherries exceed one month. If, just before ripening, a force majeure event such as a hurricane or heavy rain occurs, even though it is known that this will bring major losses, the estate still insists on not harvesting early because the beans have not reached harvest standards, resulting in a significant reduction in yield. Compared with low-altitude estates, the risks borne here are much higher.

According to Front Street's understanding, plantations in Panama's Boquete region are mainly divided into three models: sun plantations, full-shade plantations, and semi-shade plantations. Those with more than 50 trees per hectare are full-shade plantations; those with 25 to 50 trees are semi-shade plantations; and those with fewer than 25 trees are called sun plantations. So, under the same growing conditions, what effect does shade versus no shade have on coffee in two adjacent plots?

Shade plantations can slow down the ripening speed of coffee cherries, allowing the coffee cherries to accumulate more flavor substances internally. Therefore, shade itself means increased costs and reduced yields, but its coffee flavor is superior to that of semi-shade plantations under the same conditions. At present, most plantations in Colombia use a model in which coffee trees are intercropped with banana trees, because Arabica varieties are becoming increasingly dwarfed, and once banana trees mature they can provide shade.

Most Geisha coffee beans from Panama estates are manually selected and belong to specialty Arabica beans. Each batch can be traced back to its source—you can find out which estate and which plot the beans came from, or which cooperative or which farmer, in pursuit of a sense of place. Only by personally traveling to the coffee origin and stepping into a coffee estate is it possible to understand where that subtle foundation, captivating flavor, and changing aromas actually come from: microclimate, variety, processing method, or the secret methods of the coffee farmer.

Geisha Variety

Geisha refers to a coffee variety, written in English as "Geisha/Gesha," which happens to be homophonous with the Japanese word for "geisha" (Geisha), so some people also call the Geisha coffee variety "geisha." The Geisha variety was discovered in 1931 in the Geisha forest of Ethiopia, then sent to the Kenya Coffee Research Institute, introduced to Uganda and Tanzania in 1936, brought to Costa Rica in 1953, and introduced to Panama in 1970.

At first, Geisha did not receive much attention, until Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama (also known as Esmeralda Estate) separated it from other varieties in 2003 and went on to become the champion of the BOP competition in 2004. Only then did the Panama Geisha variety formally enter the public eye. The Geisha variety has a refined flavor, but the formation of this elegant flavor cannot be separated from a specific growing environment. Geisha is quite particular about growing conditions, requiring cultivation in areas with higher altitudes, cloud mist shade or abundant shade trees, and fertile soil. Among these, Boquete, Panama, is the most representative, and the Geisha produced there is deeply loved by coffee enthusiasts. The famous Hacienda La Esmeralda is also located here.

Back at Elida Estate, three varieties are mainly grown on the estate: Catuai, Typica, and Geisha. The estate's processing plant is located halfway up the mountain, so after coffee is picked, it can be transported to the factory for processing immediately, ensuring that fruit quality 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 also be captured in Elida's coffee.

In addition to its unique ultra-high altitude and microclimate, the estate owner Mr. Wilford has also invested considerable effort in harvesting and processing. To meet the highest standards, Elida Estate allows only hand-picking of the ripest coffee cherries (Ripe on Pinton). The high degree of fruit maturity naturally means high sugar content in the mucilage, and this is also the foundation for forming Elida's high-quality flavor.

The estate owner Mr. Wilford is extremely strict about coffee cultivation and processing, and is even more rigorous than others in the industry in the "purification" stage after green bean processing. Taking Panama Elida as an example, after green bean processing is completed, it needs more than 5 months of low-temperature Resting to remove greenness, which allows the coffee flavor to develop in a more balanced and fuller way. (Low-temperature Resting was strongly promoted starting in 2006 by coffee master George Howell and is a concept of green bean purification. We have found that green beans in subtropical regions certainly need low-temperature storage, but different processing methods and altitude levels will change the duration of low-temperature Resting. In the case of Panama Elida, 5 months of low-temperature Resting is optimal.)

Taking FrontStreet Coffee's Elida Estate ASD-process Geisha as an example

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama · Elida Estate Country: Panama Region: Boquete specialty region Estate: Elida Estate Altitude: 1,900 meters Variety: Geisha Processing method: Anaerobic fermentation low-temperature slow sun-drying

Processing Method

This bean uses anaerobic fermentation low-temperature slow sun-drying processing: the picked coffee cherries are placed in a sealed container to ferment for 4 to 5 days, and then a thick layer of coffee cherries is spread on drying beds to dry slowly. The low-temperature slow sun-drying processing method requires producers to invest more time and energy. Nurtured by time, slow drying allows the coffee cherries to develop optimal water activity during this process. First, flavor development is better; second, the green beans can also be maintained longer during seasonal storage cycles. But at the same time, this method not only depends on the weather and requires climatic cooperation, but also extends the time required for each batch of production, increasing the cost of green beans.

FrontStreet Coffee barista's pour-over parameters and suggestions

Because Front Street takes into account that different Geisha batches are grown in different environments, the roaster will make corresponding adjustments according to the characteristics of the coffee beans, but the main roasting direction is to highlight Geisha's floral aroma and fruity acidity, using a medium-light roast.

In general, when brewing high-altitude hard beans and coffees with a flavor profile leaning toward prominent acidity, Front Street recommends using a higher water temperature of 92-93°C to bring out more aromatic substances.

Dripper: V60 Water temperature: 91-92°C Dose: 15g Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15 Grind size: fine granulated sugar size (20-mesh sieve, 80% passing)

For brewing, Front Street uses staged extraction: after the coffee is ground and poured onto the filter paper, start pouring 30g of water from the center and bloom for 30 seconds, taking care to keep a steady circular pour with a small stream from the inside outward throughout. In the second stage, pour 95g of water, and when the coffee liquid has almost finished draining, begin pouring the third stage of 100g until all the coffee has filtered through, then remove the dripper. The time is about 2 minutes, with an error margin of about 10 seconds.

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