About the Coffee The Lamastus family has been farming coffee at Elida Estate in Boquete, Panama for over a century. The farm sits at high elevation in the Boquete highlands on volcanic soils, surrounded by old-growth forests. Wilford Lamastus Jr. now leads the operation, continuing work that spans multiple generations on the same land. Monogram first connected with Wilford in 2019 while coaching him for Brewers Cup. That initial meeting grew into years of tasting sessions, visits to the farm, and what the Monogram team describes as feeling more like family dinners than business trips. This coffee is a natural-processed Catuai variety, meaning the whole cherry dries around the bean rather than being washed off first, which draws out more sweetness and body from the fruit. The Lamastus family takes sustainability seriously at the farm level. At their lower-elevation drying facility, they run bioreactors that convert organic waste into compost and capture gas for workers to use for cooking and heating. They also bring in medical staff on a regular schedule for pickers and organize holiday celebrations for workers and their families. About Monogram Monogram was started by Ben Put, Justin, and Jeremy, three former baristas who met on the job and bonded over an interest in specialty coffee. They found that the world of specialty coffee often felt exclusive and unwelcoming to newcomers, so they set out to build something more open. They started by serving coffee from a hand-built cart before eventually opening their first cafe in Calgary's Altadore neighbourhood in 2014. Their sourcing is built around long-term producer relationships. Beyond Elida Estate, they work with farms like Finca Takesi in Bolivia and Daterra in Brazil. Ben Put has competed at the Canadian National Barista Championship seven times, winning each time, and has represented Canada at the World Barista Championship, most recently placing third in 2025. That focus on precision carries through to how they approach roasting, aiming for what they call the "Sweet Spot" between underdeveloped and overdone.
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