Papua New Guinea Org Timuza A/X

This is wild wild west PNG coffee versus the Sigri and Kimel which are nice traditional estate models (although still wilder than most farms we would usually think of). Basically, coffee cherries funnel in every day to these operations, farmers and family members pick the cherry from everywhere they can – parks, natural areas, villages, small farms etc… They then bring the cherry to a centralized processing center, who judges the quality of the beans and purchases them assuming the quality is on par.  Holds a little different cup profile than the estate coffees but wonderful in its own regard.

The Timuza Coffee Cooperative represents over 200 small-holder farmers of the Kamano tribal group, located southwest of Kainantu in the hamlets surrounding Namura town. The soils are are a mix of black & brownish red loam, with predominately traditional typica grown under casuarina and albizia shade trees. Average farm size is 1.4 hectares per family, with adjacent gardens for cultivation of food crops such as sweet potato, taro, and cassava. Farmers have received training and assistance in financial management, gender equality, coffee husbandry and standards for processing through local partners. The harvest takes place from April through September, with selective harvest of ripe cherry, manually pulping, fermentation in traditional bilum bags, washing, and full sun-drying. In 2016, Timuza placed 1st in the National Cupping Competition.

Tasting Notes:  The cup is fuller bodied and a bit creamier, lower acidity and rich. At lighter roasts, a little acidity can be found which brings small notes of nutty, caramel and floral tones but can risk a little earthiness if too light. Anything even into the medium roast range is pretty chocolaty and smooth with just a pinch of a spice note. Darker roasts get a bit fuller bodied and roasty with some nice smoky accents.

Roasting Notes: Easy to roast, a nice processing batch. Roasts fairly even and is tasty at a little fuller roast points. For a milder everyday drinker, a nice stronger medium roast (a little before 2nd crack) is good. Darker roasts (into 2nd crack) get  bolder and a little more semi-sweet chocolaty but the roasty notes compliment the cup and darker roast fans will love it.

To learn more about PNG’s unusual coffee industry, check out our recent blog article “The Wild West of Coffee Production.”