Panama - Michella Estate Typica Washed, Finca Lerida

Maria Antonella Amoruso, Boquete-born mother of six, entrepreneur, and coffee lover, is at the helm of the five-plantation Lerida Coffee enterprise in Boquete, Panama, which spans the flagship Finca Lerida in Alto Quiel alongside estates Michella and Flora in Volcancito, and Amelia and Esplenderosa in Jaramillo.

Since taking over the 100-year-old legacy stewarded over three generations across three families, Maria has steered Finca Lerida toward global renown as a consistent Best of Panama producer of the highest-scoring lots within the Top 10 in both Geisha and Varietal categories.

Finca Lerida was founded in 1924 by engineer Toleff Bache Mönniche and his wife, Julia. It continued to thrive in the 1950s, supervised by Alfredo and Inga Collins, and through to the late 2000s with their sons Hans and Charlie.

In 2008, when Maria — who grew up witnessing her grandfather’s passion for coffee farming — met the opportunity to acquire Finca Lerida, she embraced it and has been dedicated to sustaining and amplifying its prosperity since.

Michella Estate is the most recent addition to the Lerida enterprise, aimed at broadening the scope of their offerings. It spans 32 hectares of biodiverse agroforests planted with Typica, Catuai, Pacamara, and SL34 varieties.

As one of Boquete coffee farms’ foundational varieties, Typica is afforded special regard by Panamanian specialty coffee producers as one that expresses both an essential and accessible cup character that specialty coffee drinkers would appreciate as a clean, sweet, and well-balanced daily morning cup.

Because of this sense of history combined with the potential for very good cup quality, in spite of the tendency for lower yields and susceptibility to adverse elements, legacy producers like the Lerida enterprise persevere in sustaining a substantial allocation of plots for Typica in their plantations.

Archers’ first Panamanian lot in our Specialty Selection, Michella Typica underwent a traditional washed process, whereby cherries at a pre-determined ripeness level were harvested and further sorted through flotation, before being depulped and fully demucilaged.

To dry, the coffees in parchment were spread out on a patio under direct sunlight for an initial two-day pre-drying phase before being completed carefully using mechanical dryers for another four days.

By increasing inclusivity of a wider range of tastes and preferences through focused and thoughtful production of non-Geisha varieties, Michella caters to specialty coffee enthusiasts who may be at earlier stages in their journey of sensory discovery, or simply are looking to taste the best of Panama apart from the Geisha.

Consequently, this contributes to enriching appreciation of Panama as a specialty coffee origin beyond the Geisha.