Damarli Estate is a speciality coffee farm located in Boquete, Panama. The farm was purchased in 1995 by David Pech, a NASA engineer and photographer in the United States, and his wife Lia Pech (Ruiz). The purchase, which was the initiative of David and Lia, is based on a family tradition in Boquete that has been heavily involved in the coffee industry for four generations, as Lia also belongs to the Ruiz family.

 

The name Damarli is formed from the initials of David and Lia, the founders of the farm, and David's parents (Manfred and Ruth Pech). The farm started with the planting of coffee seedlings in 1996 and began production in 2001. For over ten years, Damarli Estate has been selling raw coffee fruits to Casa Ruiz, which is run by Lia's family. Damarli Estate is a coffee farm with an area of 18 hectares at an altitude of 1,450 to 1,500 metres in Palmira Arriba, an area close to the Baru Volcano in the Boquete region of Panama. The farm is home to various coffee varieties such as Gesha, Red Bourbon, Pacamara, Marsellesa, as well as orange, banana, and avocado trees to preserve biodiversity. Damarli Estate coffee farm is an important agricultural centre, characterised by its location, microclimate and diversified vegetation.

 

In 2014, David and Lia's son Keith moved to Panama and started a new project at Damarli Estate. This project led to the creation of a new section of the Damarli Estate. Keith has taken a leading role in identifying unique coffee varieties grown on the farm and participating in international competitions. He also participated in various coffee expos to market the coffee and promote Damarli Estate coffee internationally. Keith has taken responsibility for sales management and quality control and was certified as an Arabica Q Grader in 2016. As a result of these initiatives, Damarli Estate coffee has been introduced to consumers in different geographies such as Europe, the United States, South Korea, Taiwan, China and the United Arab Emirates.

 

Since 2015, David Pech has also become more active, devoting more time and investment to his family's coffee farm. On his own initiative, he built a residence to receive visitors, a new hulling mill, drying beds and a coffee tasting laboratory to welcome international buyers. He also started experimenting with new yeast processes and gave iconic names to the coffees he processed with different yeasts. Such as "Breeze, Imperial and Redwood". In 2019, these efforts have increased the prestige of Damarli Estate. The farm has achieved significant success in the "Best of Panama" competition and has won first place in the Pacamara category and second place in the Traditional Natural category in the past years.

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Harvesting of coffee fruits is carried out manually according to the variety and parcel location. The harvested coffee fruits are sorted by hand according to colour and ripeness. In the fermentation stage, whole fruit maceration is carried out using specific yeasts. The fruit is fermented for 4 days in food-grade sealed vats, each vat containing about 40 kg of fruit. After fermentation, the coffee berries are removed from these barrels and spread evenly to ensure uniform drying. At this stage, the coffee is inverted and dried on raised trays for 10-14 days to a moisture content of 9.5%. After drying, the coffee rests in moisture barrier bags at a constant temperature for at least 2 days. In the hulling stage, the sieve size is set to 16-20 and all remaining defects are removed using Oliver brand Density Machine. Damarli Farm is progressing in harmony with modern agricultural techniques, especially in the production of Gesha coffee. This production, led by Keith Pech, reflects a careful and scientific approach to the production of quality coffee.