Timor-Leste Letefoho – Natural Processed

Not your average Timor coffee! This is a wonderful very fruit forward, wild, old world natural processed. If you like Indo. Bali Kintamani Natural or Yemen coffees, this will be right down your alley.

Among the misty highlands of Timor coffee is known as the “golden prince,” and grows under extensive shade on rugged and steep mountainsides. Due to the extremely wet environment of Timor, most coffee is either wet-hulled or fully washed, making naturally processed coffee rare. Although unusual, the extended drying time for naturally processed coffees in the region can bring added sweetness and fruit to the heavy body typically associated with the coffee of Timor.

A very tasty aggregate production (small holder) coffee coming from the Letefoho sub-district of the Ermera municipality in Timor.

Similar to much of Indonesian, Timor has its own strain of coffee that naturally crossed an Arabica strain with a Robusta strain creating a wonderful hybrid that has now been used around the world. Although this happened naturally in Timor, the idea behind this is currently saving the coffee industry. As climate  continues to change and world trade keeps expanding, coffee has been getting hit with a lot of disease and pests that Arabica plants are susceptible to but Robusta is not. These hybrid strains have been keeping the farms alive and over the years and they have really dialed in a unique and tasty cup with the strain over the years.

Tasting Notes: A tasty cup from light to dark. Lighter roasts will have stronger citric floral acidity that will fade into wild semi-boozy red fruit tones. Those lighter tones balance out with a more rustic chocolaty dark tone, a sign of its Timor heritage. All in all, lighter roasts will produce a sweet edged cup with a fuller body and higher acidity. A great roast level for more new-wave coffee heads.

As one pushes into the medium roast level it cuts out most of the citric and floral  tones. A much smoother cup with plenty of sweetness and fruit tones, It will lean the dominating taste to the more rich & rustic dark chocolate side. A little easier to pick it out as a Timor coffee from medium to dark. Smooth, rich, sweet and fruity. Not nearly as sharp as lighter roasts, a good starting point for most natural fans.

Dark roasts hold well, usually it burns out the delicate fruity/floral on most naturals, but being a Timor, the great body and strong nutty/chocolate tones pop right out, a bit smoky and less sweet than lighter roasts, hints of fruitiness in the cup and aromatics but not as noticeable in the taste until the cup cools.

Roasting Notes: A bit uneven roasting and high chaff. A sign of it being an old world natural. We would still consider it pretty easy to roast, for it will taste good from light to dark. If you do not like brighter cup characteristics, make sure to error a bit darker in your roast.