For the last two years, we have been lucky to receive a lot of naturally processed coffee from the award winning coffee farm Elida Estate in Panama. Coffee from this farm really stands out. The farm is set in a unique micro climate, high in the mountains of Volcan Baru National Park. Here the Lamastus family has grown coffee since 1918, through three generations. Wilford Lamastus runs the farm, which is named after his grandmother, Elida. With methods developed and continued throughout generations, they cultivate some of the world’s best coffee beans. The combination of the farm’s location and the incredibly skilled farmers produces a coffee that is a quality grade in a special class.

The long version 😉

Elida Estate is one of the highest located coffee plantations within Panama, and coffee is shade grown in rich volcanic soils. More than half the estate is surrounded by private forest reserve and Volcan national park: home to many native species of plants and birds (over 200 species). Shrubs receive fungicide and hand-applied chemical fertilizer 2-3 terms per year and no herbicides are used.

Wilford Lamastus is a third-generation producer, self-identifying as being “born” a coffee farmer; he fondly remembers using the trees planted in between the coffee on the family’s 1.5 hectare plantation as a playground along with his four brothers. Coffee is and always has been his life’s calling and the tradition only continues with his son who is currently learning the family’s trade in pursuit of his own career as a coffee producer.

What sets the Lamastus family apart is their vision of Elida‘s niche within high-end specialty coffee. In Wilford’s words, “the super-specialty coffee industry is dynamic, challenging, competitive, innovative, there are always new players doing something new in thousands of super-specialty coffee farms around the world to improve quality. Therefore, every year we do something new in the mill and the farm to improve quality.”

To remain atop this field, the Lamastus family invests in a lot of research in processing techniques, particularly in drying and resting methods, such as the ideal drying periods and storage facilities for parchment. Since the Panamanian coffee sector does not fund a research program or lab like many other countries have, the Lamastus family, their neighbors and colleagues belonging to the Specialty Coffee Association of Panama (SCAP) are constantly getting together to discuss each others’ methods and new projects. There is a good sense of community and collaboration within the SCAP.

Elida has established itself as one of the most highly regarded specialty coffee estates in Panama. It consistently ranks within the top-10 at the annual Best of Panama competition, placing 3rd in 2007 for the non-geisha competition; it is highly sought-after by specialty roasters the world over (e.g. link); it placed amongst the top 30 of 350 submitted to SCAA in 2005. The Lamastus family, growers for the past century, is an experienced and proud coffee family that is continually investing in and seeking new ways of improving their already stellar coffees.

In addition to all the ongoing research, Elida is in the first of a very ambitious six-year plan to completely re-plant the farm with the Geisha variety. Right now the farm is made up of 80% catuai, 15% geisha and 5% typica. Elida‘s sister farm, El Burro, is already 90% geisha planted. Of course, cup quality doesn’t stop at experimentation and variety make-up: ensuring quality requires vigilant and non-stop cupping, which Wilford and his team are adamant about.

Langøra Kaffe

Social: @langorakaffe
Location: Stjørdal, Norway
Established: 2014
Roaster: Diedrich IR-12

Langøra Coffee Roasters are based in a little red ‘ Stabbur ‘, a traditional storehouse at Hjelseng Farm in Stjørdal, Norway. We select and purchase traceable speciality coffees, in season, with characteristic flavour profiles that excite us.
The quality of coffee depends on factors such as region, terroir, variety and processing. Together they contribute to form each coffee’s unique flavour. Through the roasting process the team at Langøra wish to highlight these characteristics, so that the natural flavours and aromas of the coffee are preserved.