Justin Boudeman is an intriguing individual who made a life-changing decision to relocate to Panama more than 25 years ago. With a degree in Natural Resource Management, a passion for wine, and a love for surfing, he laid the foundation for Longboard Coffee.
Justin exemplifies the role of a micro-producer, approaching every aspect of his three small farms with meticulous attention and a hands-on approach. By employing organic and bio-dynamic farming practices, he ensures that all farm inputs are sourced directly from the land. Each farm produces its own organic fertilizers and captures its own water.
These practices result in an authentic expression of variety and place – unadulterated terroir.
(Justin Boudeman)
Misty Mountain is a true forest-grown Geisha. The farm is young and wild, playful yet majestic. It is a mysterious and silent place on the edge of virgin forest, roughhewn from the wilderness. Its unique microclimate is sunny and breezy one half of the year and enshrouded in mist the other.
If Misty Mountain is young and wild, Windy Ridge is mature and refined, wise yet exotic. The plantation has rooted deeply and is allowed to reach its desired height- often over 5 meters- and the perfectly ripe cherries are delicately harvested by ladder. At 1600 meters facing the Baru Volcano in the center of the prized Alto Jaramillo region, the exposed westerly orientation is bathed in afternoon sun, injecting an uncommon sweetness into the cherry.
Taking advantage of the drier microclimate of the Palmira region, Fennario is where all of Justin’s coffees are taken directly after harvest for processing and drying. At an elevation of 1150 meters and providing an excellent cup relative to its elevation, Fennario has been producing organic Caturra and Catuai as well as an excess of banana, plantain and citrus. It is also home to the Longboard Lab.
Whilst judging at the Best of Panama competition, in 2022, Nolan met Justin for the first time. After spending time together during the competition, they both knew we had to do something special together. Jump forwards to our 2023 Panama source trip, James and Nolan went to visit Justin, and after cupping three tables of Justin’s finest coffees, we settled on some delicious, one-of-a-kind geisha, and started to chat.
The conversation quickly turned to addressing the challenge that we often face, as green coffee buyers – how do we effectively convey the farm experience to our customers? Sure, photographs and video can help – but they’re not able to capture the sensory aspect, and honestly – that’s often what makes visiting a coffee farm so special. It was at that point Justin casually mentioned that he’d been harvesting and drying geisha flowers, to prepare as an intensely aromatic tea. We knew we had to have some - and just like that – the three of us sitting around a cupping table – the Longboard tasting experience was born. Be on the lookout for it in one of our cafes.