Whole Bean
Roast: Light
Recommended Rest: 4-6 weeks from roast date
Tasting Notes: chardonnay, sparkling red grape, blackberry

Origin Details

Region: Boquete, Panama
Elevation: 1600-1700masl
Producer: Lamastus Family, El Burro
Process: ASD Natural
Variety: Gesha

ABOUT THIS COFFEE AND PRODUCER

The Lamastus Family Estates is a group of farms that were founded by Robert Lamastus in 1918, Amado Boutet in 1925 and Luito Lamastus in 2014. It is a group of four estates (3 producing, one just planted) named Elida Estate, El Burro Estate, Luito Geisha Estate, Luito Lulo lot Geisha Estate and Trompo Geisha Estate. All the farms are located in different areas of the highlands of Panama, making each one different from each other for its unique microclimate and microorganisms surrounding them and the Terroir.

El Burro Estate, one of the most-southern coffee farms in Panama, yields a different and unique cup profile. Part of the estate is inside the Baru Volcano National Park (BVNP). This coffee is produced under a unique world-condition for several reasons: first, the farm is located at a very high elevation, it is grown in rich young volcanic soils, the temperatures are low, it is dry during the dry season (opposed to other coffee estates from the Lamastus Family Estates) and precipitation during wet season is very heavy (3200mm/125in average precipitation), the coffee trees are surrounded by virgin-native cloudy rain forest, the nights get cold here low temperatures also extend the ripening time 1 month longer (thereby the development of the bean). All these unique growing conditions, like in Elida, show in its distinguished cup profile.

For this natural geisha lot, the Lamastus family chose to use their Anaerobic Slow Dry (ASD) process. This involves slowly drying the whole cherry in sealed tanks for 3 days.

WHY WE SELECTED THIS COFFEE

We’re excited to finally be releasing a coffee from the Lamastus Family, coming from the legendary El Burro farm. We’ve had the chance to meet Wilford Lamastus many times over the years, including visits with him right here in our café in San Jose, California. He is easily one of the most genuine and passionate producers we know, and we’re truly thrilled to be entrusted with his coffee.

This release is an anaerobic slow dry natural Gesha, and it feels like a great window into both the terroir of El Burro and the Lamastus family’s skill with bold, punchy fermentations that still remain thoughtful and precise.

In the cup, the complexity unfolds gradually. It opens with an elegant, crisp Chardonnay-like quality, then shifts into a deeper, sparkly red grape note with a subtle effervescence. As the coffee cools, darker fruit layers emerge, with wild blackberries adding depth and juiciness to the experience.

If you’re a fan of natural process coffees, this one should be especially fun, with plenty of loud, expressive flavors to dig into from start to finish.