Elida Geisha - Panama, La Cabra | 100g

The anaerobic fermentation of this lot from the Lamastus family’s Elida Estate showcases floral aromatics atop a rich base of stewed berries

Coffee Expression This Anaerobic lot from the Elida Estate showcases clean and intense florals atop a wildly sweet base of stewed berries.

Producer The Elida Estate has been owned by the Lamastus family since 1918. Elida is located high on the Volcan Baru national park, on the fertile slopes of the extinct volcano.

The Lamastus Family Estates

Robert Lamastus started planting coffee on the Elida Estate in 1918. He soon expanded down the slopes, purchasing El Burro in 1925, continuing his work as one of the first in Panama to pursue quality coffee. Elida is located mainly within the Volcan Baru National Forest Reserve, providing rich biodiversity and thick rainforest shade for the coffee trees here. Coffee is planted up to 2000 metres above sea level, while the highest parts of the farm are left untouched, preserving the diversity of native forest species. Nowadays, the Lamastus Family Estates are run by Robert’s grandson and great-grandson, Wilford and Wilford Jr. 

Elida Anaerobic Geisha

This lot is from the ‘Falda’ lot of Elida, located at 1800 masl. Falda is a younger lot, and benefits from more sun exposure than many of the other lots on the farm. These sun-drenched cherries are full of energy and sugar, making them better suited for natural processing. Ripe Geisha cherries from Falda were taken to the Lamastus family’s processing station, and sealed in stainless steel tanks together with coffee fruit juice from a previous fermentation. This juice contains a culture of native bacteria and yeast, acting like a sourdough starter to push the fermentation in a particular direction, giving a greater degree of control over the final result. The tanks are sealed for 5 days, before the cherries are laid out to dry on raised beds at a low temperature, taking over 30 days to dry.

This slow and careful drying means the cell structure of the coffee remains intact, locking flavour compounds into the seed and leading to excellent shelf life. This leads to a wild and ripe version of the Elida Geisha, while holding onto the floral aromas we so appreciate in the washed versions. Here this comes across as rich stewed berries, lifted by complex aromas of violet and rosewater.