Papua New Guinea - BERRY NICE
About the Producer & Region
I'm really excited for you lot to try this months Roasters Choice, we've sourced what I think is one of the best Papua New Guinea coffees I think we've ever tried!
It's a gorgeous washed process typica, full of berry and citrus notes.
It's a gorgeous washed process typica, full of berry and citrus notes.
PNG isn't a particularly common origin for speciality coffee as histroically much of the coffees havent had the care needed for sorting and speciality processing butwith the increasing demand and much higher premiums paid to the producers we are starting to see some really amazing coffees!
This lot is sourced from 1,500 smallholder farmers partnered with the Outspan 4 Mile wet mill in Goroka. These farmers cultivate the typica and mundo novo varieties at altitudes up to 1,500 MASL. The mill buys ripe cherries and processes them centrally to ensure complete control of cherry selection and processing.
The coffee is harvested by selecting only the cherries that have reached perfect ripeness. The beans are then depulped manually using a pulping machine. Afterward, they are placed in a container with water for an initial separation, removing any beans that float. The coffee is transferred to an open tank to ferment for about 12 hours. It is then washed two or three times until all the mucilage is removed. Finally, the beans are dried on patios for around seven days before completing in mechanical dryers.
The Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea is the largest coffee-producing province in Papua New Guinea, with an average altitude of between 1,100 and 2,000 meters above sea level. Farmers grow coffee using traditional methods, mostly without the use of chemicals such as fertilisers and pesticides. They are smallholder farmers with an average land area of 0.5 hectares.
Although PNG has often produced more than 1 million bags of coffee annually, the average has dropped below 1 million over the last 10 years. The vast majority of coffee in PNG (95%) is grown in the highland regions near the center of the country. These coffee exhibit the heavy body characteristic of this part of the world along with the savory sweet flavors. Coffee from PNG is graded using a unique matrix that reflects not only screen size but bean shape, defect count, and colour in addition to aroma and cup quality with A/X, being the highest quality available.
Compared to the speed with which Europeans colonised other parts of the world, they seemed to spill over Oceania in slow motion. So, although the highlands of PNG are textbook coffee land, commercial coffee production was not established until 1928. In typical British colonial style, coffee was initially grown on plantations (though atypically planted with Blue Mountain from Jamaica). The history of colonial New Guinea mirrors that of central Africa. Feeling left out of the general expansionist trend, Germany grabbed a portion of northern New Guinea in the late 1800’s and then lost it during WWI. The Japanese invaded PNG during WWII and the island saw fierce fighting for much of the war. For most of the 20th century, administrative responsibility for PNG and its ever evolving configuration (and name) rested with Australia.
Chipp Coffee Co. Roastery Update
Last month we said goodbye the the legend that is Ghily as he went on his way to a big new opportunity that he simply couldn't say no to. Well he could have said no, but he clearly hates us and couldn't wait to see the back of us. Seriously though we miss him a lot and the roastery is a lot quieter without him.
We also competed in the Best Roaster competition at Glasgow Coffee Festival which was an absolute blast! Unfortunately we didn't win but we were so proud of the coffee we entered, we've added it to our store so you can all try it for yourself. It's lovingly named Glasgow Gala because it has big notes of gala apples, cream soda and grapefruit. It's a favourite in the roastery and you can GRAB IT HERE. Hopefully you'll be able to pick some up before we drink it all ourselves.
What We're Listening To
This month Bilmuri released their new album - Kinda Hard, and that's the perfect name because the whole album goes kinda hard! If you like alternative bangers, big guitars, awesome guest artists and heartfelt lyrics this one is a good one to get your teeth stuck in to. Our personal favourites include MORE THAN HATE, ALWAYS LET YOU DOWN and HONEST. We love it hear at Chipp and we reckon that, if you're cool like us, you'll like it too!
