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Indonesia: Papua New Guinea

Map of Papua New Guinea

Current Crop Comments:
There are several types of PNG coffee I really enjoy: A bright, clean, fruited cup suck as Kimel; A balanced lower-toned cup like Arokara Plantation (great for espresso) and a more rustic Organic PNG. '07 lots seem to have larger bean, but lower body and intensity. I like this Kimel Peaberry lot we are offering, but other samples haven't measured up to '06. In general PNG is such a solid origin, with a range of different cup profiles, as opposed to Timor which has one basic cup profile. So I feel we have good reason to offer multiple PNG coffees (although business-wise it makes little sense, but hey, we don't operate like that anyway!).
 

Papua New Guinea is a distinct coffee among the Indonesians, even though it doesn't even have an entire island to call it's own. Papua New Guinea occupies the eastern half of the island it shares with the Indonesian provice of Irian Jaya (no organized coffee production originates from Irian Jaya). The small-farm "Coffee Gardens" have a unique wild note in the cup but are in no way as earthy as other Indonesian coffees such as Sumatra and Sulawesi. These small farms are often organized into coops that share wet-milling facilities and are Organic certified,

The Plantation coffees are the larger farms and have the cleaner, more delicate and sophisticated cup character. While a lighter body than Javas, good PNG has the delicate notes, complexity, and sometimes the acidity or brightness of the best Central Americans.

I have also cupped small farm, natural dry-processed Papua New Guineas and been astounded with the depth, range of flavors and subtleties of the cup: homefully we will see something of this kind available as a commercial coffee in the US market at some time. Much of the seedstock on Papua New Guinea is planted from the Jamaican Blue Mountain var. typica arabica, and with the Arushi typica varietal from Tanzania. Some are more modern hybrids or the Indian "Kent" varietal


Our Papua New Guinea Offerings: (You will need to read the reference page to interpret terms and numbers used below)

Papua New Guinea AA Maloolaba
Country: New Guinea Grade: AA Region: Eastern Highlands Mark: Maloolaba Plantation
Processing: Wet-Processed Crop: November 2008 Arrival Appearance: .0 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen Varietal: Unknown (Typica Appearance)
Notes:Papua New Guinea occupies the Eastern half of the island it shares with the Indonesian provice of Irian (no organized coffee production ocurrs from Irian, to my knowledge). PNG coffees can be a bit confusing. There can be a huge range of cups from Papua New Guinea, and the so-called Plantation coffees represent the cleaner character of the coffee produced on the island... more like a good Central American than part of the overall Indonesia flavor profile. The Organic PNG coffees have the more natural, rustic cup character. The plantations are larger farms that have their own coffee processing wet mills, so they are able to control all the variables of production better than the small farm "coffee gardens." All PNG coffees are wet-processed, which is a large part of their more bright, acidic profile, and why some basic aspects of the cup are indeed similar to a Central America coffee. Many other Indonesia coffees, such as Sumatra and the bulk of Sulawesi coffees, are "wet-hulled" which results in lower acidity, heavy body, and the funky "earthy" character which some people love more than others. This Maloolaba lot originates from the coffee areas of the Eastern Highlands, and is processed in the town of Goroka. It's unique because it bridges the gap between the more rustic Organic PNG coffees, and the cleaner Plantation lots: It is bright and lively, yet has the body of an Indonesia, and some rather Bohemian herbal/foresty notes as well. The dry fragrance is sweetly herbal, with a dash of thyme and a slightly minty accent. This turns to green apple, with a syrupy, dark honey-saturated sweet smell in the wet aromatics. There's an interesting tree-resin aromatic too, which is why it gives a somewhat foresty impression. It's striking to have brightness, sweet roast notes, and these exotic flora flavors in one cup, as if the brightness of a Panama had been mashed up with a clean example of Sulawesi coffee. Or perhaps we should think of the other wet-process Indos here, Timor, for example. In any case, it has notable balance. When properly rested (3 days) the body fill out in this cup, giving a buttery impression to the mouthfeel. As the cup cools, there is an apple skin texture to the finish, and soft floral notes emerge. This Maloolaba distinguished itself on the cupping table with a score of other PNG lots for bridging the diverse styles of PNG coffees, having the best characteristics of each.
Intensity/Prime Attribute:Medium intensity /Balance, body, brightness, foresty-herbal flavors
Roast:City+ acheives the blanced cup I describe, but FC+ was quite interesting as well, with emergent chocolate notes. BTW: When cross-cupped against a clean Central Am. Coffee, the herbal-foresty notes are crystal clear, but tasted solo, you need to look for them more.
Compare to: A bright yet thoroughly Indonesia flavor profile.
Papua New Guinea AA Maloolaba $4.90 add to cart$9.31 add to cart$21.32add to cart$40.67add to cart$75.46add to cart


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