Our first coffee plantation visit during our trip to Boquete was Santa Elena Estate. We dropped in unannounced and, after a bit of confusion, met Roberto. He is the son of the owner, and the manager of the coffee estate. He graciously spent two and a half hours walking us through the finca (estate) which backs up to Piedro de Lino Mountain, namesake for their roasted coffee under the Cafe DeLino brand. During our tour he was a fountain of information about what he considers important to the production of great coffee.
Geography and Plants
Finca Santa Elena (Google Maps) is not very far out of town from Boquete itself. It was an easy walk and, from the road, appeared to be quite small. But looks can be deceiving. As we walked the estate with Roberto we came to realize that is really quite large. In fact, the property spans low-lying areas near the Caldera River to a mountainside several hundred feet up.
Coffee Plant Management
During our visit, Roberto passionately described how important it was to focus on building a healthy transplant stock, having a mix of varieties, and exploring new cultivars that may be more resistant to both rust and the effects of climate change. He has been trying a number of different varietals on his plantation to evaluate their qualities for producing cherries as well as being resistant to higher temperatures and coffee rust.
We visited on a bright sunny day in the middle of rainy season for Panama in an El Niño year. Roberto and others in Boquete commented on the noticeable lack of rain — at least in comparison to normal rainy seasons. And while El Niño may be partially to blame the changing weather patterns have been impacting the plants including speed of growth as well as flowering and cherry ripening at abnormal times of the year.
Adapting to Climate and Economic Change in Coffee
The price of coffee beans are low and fluctuate wildly, though the consumer doesn’t see this. Changes in the climate, the – relative – high cost of labor, and how productive coffee plants are all have significant impact on plantation economics. These are some of the reasons why Santa Elena Estate, like others are improving production practices and branching out.
For Roberto, this means a few things. First, focusing on growing healthy new seed stock to replace plants as they age or die. Second, focusing on sections of the plantation with common cultivars (vs being randomly interspersed as they were). Third, focusing the Gesha varietal where it does best, on the steep hillsides above the rest of the plantation. And finally, diversifying into peppers. Peppers as it turns out are very lucrative and provide a means to streamline cashflow.
How to Get Great Coffee from Finca Santa Elena
Cafe De Lino is available in grocery stores in Panama City. You can find single varietals or blends of Gesha (Geisha), Catuai, Caturra, and Pacamara. You won’t find Cafe De Lino in the United States but that’s probably a good thing — if it were, it would probably have sat for months in the grocery supply chain having been roasted long ago. However, you can ask your local coffee roaster to get in touch with Finca Santa Elena by email, phone, or WhatsApp. Their coffee beans are available to be shipped by air in single vacuum sealed sacks or by sea for a pallet or more.
