Papua New Guinea Kimel A

Every 4 years, Papua New Guinea holds an election and it causes strife and tribal uprisings (sound familiar?) So every 4th year, the farmers prune their trees way back, knowing it will cause a lower harvest, but then the following year the tree is happy and gives a huge harvest. They want a low harvest in the election year because there is so much political uncertainty with unrest, exchange rates, customs, etc, it is easier to just lay low. All that to say, this was an election year, it was full of drama, the coffee harvest was less than half of normal, and now Papua New Guinea coffee will be in scarce supply for the next 6 months.

Brand new, deep bluish large uniformly sized beans. I roast it quickly and gently to a light 397 degrees, where its out of the 1st cracks by maybe 30 seconds, but nowhere near the 2nds. This gives it the full-mouthfeel character that I associate with fine New Guinea coffee. A really nice lingering aftertaste, hints of pineapple and mango, no earthiness, and very little acidity. There are less distinct undertones here than with some New Guineas. While the sweet smooth fruitiness is there, it’s hard to pick out anything distinct. Aftertaste is clean. The reason for this is that most PNG coffees are of the Jamaica Blue Mountain varietal, but the Kimel Estate uses Jamaica trees in addition to trees transplanted from Tanzania, Colombia, and others. This blend creates a taste that is a little different than other PNG offerings — sweeter but less pronounced. I do not recommend taking it even barely into 2nd cracks, as unpleasant burnt flavors quickly show up in this coffee.

As a light roast, it makes a fantastic cup of coffee at a 60% ratio, using a dark roasted Sumatra or a dark roasted Guatemala for the other 40%.