On the Elida Farm

We went quite blindly, but fortunately the town of Boquete is so small that in a moment you know everything you need and a little later you knock on the farmers’ gate. The luck of the brave or beginner brought us to the Elida farm, which is owned by a nice guy named Wilford Lamastus, president of the Panama SCA, an organization that is responsible for the care and development of selected coffee. By the way, in 2017 his son placed second in the Brewers Cup (filtered coffee competition).

We spent the whole day on the farm and it was not enough! The Boquete area is famous for growing a rare coffee variety called Geisha. And here on this farm they grow quite large. Geisha is unique, no matter how it is processed, it always has a unique aroma, balanced taste, among other coffees you can recognize it even with a blindfold. On the other hand, this variety is relatively expensive, you will pay for it an estimated five times what you will pay for perhaps lower quality, but still very good selected coffee of other varieties.

Wilford willingly and gladly took us through the orchards where Geisha grows and we also tasted ripe coffee cherries plucked directly from the bushes, later they looked at different processing methods, some cherries ended up on African beds where they are slowly dried, others are processed in car washes wet method, where the cherries are stripped of their skin and pulp and only then can they be dried. The difference in taste and aroma is clear in these treatments. The natural method ensures sweeter tones, while the wet method emphasizes sparkle and juiciness.

Unfortunately, Wilford and I did not have time to taste his coffee from this year’s harvest, but we have the promised samples, which we will then drink with us, then we will taste (in the form of cupping) and if they are good, we will order. You have something to look forward to!