Description
This lot comes from the Timuza Cooperative, which brings together more than 200 small-holder farmers of the Kamano tribal group, located southwest of Kainantu in the hamlets surrounding Namura town, in Papua New Guinea’s Eastern Highlands Province. As with much of PNG’s coffee, this is not a world of large, tidy estates but a wilder model: cherries funnel in from everywhere the farmers can grow them, small parcels, backyard plots, and gardens mixed in with sweet potato, taro, and cassava. Producers bring their ripe cherry to a central processing unit run by the cooperative, where quality is judged and the coffee is purchased assuming the lot is up to par.
Average farm size runs around 1 to 1.4 hectares per family, with coffee grown under casuarina and albizia shade trees. The varieties are Arusha, Bourbon, and Typica, planted between 1400 and 1900 MASL in volcanic, reddish-brown loam soils. The farmers are certified organic and have received training in coffee husbandry, gender equality, financial management, and processing standards through local partners.
Processing is fully washed: selective harvest of ripe cherry from May through September, depulping usually the same day, fermentation for 24 to 48 hours, washing to remove the mucilage, and full sun-drying on raised beds and tarpaulins. The coffee is then packed in Ecotact, a moisture and oxygen barrier that helps preserve freshness on the long trip from such a remote origin.
Tasting Notes: The cup is medium to fuller bodied and a bit creamy, with low, mellow tart acidity. The supplier describes it with notes of fresh coffee cherry and malt. At lighter roasts a little more acidity comes through alongside light notes of nutty, caramel and floral tones, though too light can risk a touch of earthiness. Into the medium roast range it gets nicely chocolaty and smooth with just a pinch of spice. Darker roasts gain body and turn roasty with some nice smoky accents.
Roasting Notes: Easy to roast, an even and forgiving batch. It roasts fairly even and is tasty at a little past full city. For a milder everyday drinker, a slightly stronger medium roast (just before 2nd crack) is good. Darker roasts (into 2nd crack) gain body and a semi-sweet chocolaty note where the roasty tones compliment the cup, and dark 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.”
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