First Roasters is a Specialty Coffee Roaster founded in 1988 by Leonardo Lamastus, a third generation coffee grower. In 1915, a Kentucky native, Robert Lamastus, retired from the Panama Canal and moves to Boquete in the province of Chiriqui. In this small valley surrounded by mountains he starts growing coffee in the slopes of the Baru Volcano. Mr. Lamastus passed away in 1935 and his wife Elida started exporting the coffee to Europe and the U.S. When she retired in the 1950's, her children Thatcher and Robert took over the business. Robert died in 1979 and his brother Thatcher took sole control of the family's business. Together with his children Wilfred, Luis, Leonard, Patrick and Thatcher Jr., Thatcher expanded the business and became one of the leading coffee growers and processors in Panama. In 1983, Leonard moved to the United States to attend college. In 1988, after graduating from college, he opened the first coffee roasting plant in the Central Florida area with the idea of providing coffee shops and fine restaraunts of much needed high quality coffee. First Roasters has been roasting coffee in Orlando for the past 20 years specializing in gourmet and specialty coffees. Our customers include Walt Disney World, Bailey's Coffee Service, Diplomat Coffee ( a national supplier of in-room coffee for hotels), Masion De Jardin, Le Coq Au Vin, Michael's Coffee, JBM Sales and a long list of other fine establishments in the United States. Our company is run by people that have been involved in the coffee trade for over 90 years, sharing their experience and knowledge with their customers.