What Does Papua New Guinea Coffee Taste Like and How to Brew It

Estate: Kimel Estate

Today we introduce PB, short for Peaberry, what we commonly call the round bean. A coffee cherry usually contains two seeds, the familiar coffee beans with one curved side and one flat side, shaped rather like a peanut. We call those flat beans. A peaberry occurs when a cherry contains only a single oval bean, and such beans account for a very small proportion of the fruit on a coffee tree. Peaberries are all selected by hand, one by one, ensuring overall quality, so it is no surprise that they taste excellent.

Coffee from Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea's coffee production is not large, and its beans are all carefully processed washed Arabica. Washed coffee generally bursts with bright fruit flavors but without strong acidity. Papua New Guinea's beans are characterized by a silky-smooth mouthfeel and a wonderful aroma, with moderate acidity, a rare combination of high body and medium acidity.

Flavor Notes: Nuts, Sugarcane, Spices

In recent years Papua New Guinea coffee has begun representing Oceania in the specialty coffee world with its distinctive, high-quality washed Arabica. Its beans are full-bodied, with moderate acidity and a rich, aromatic flavor.

The Origin: Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is an island nation in Oceania. In Malay, "Papua" means "curly hair." Legend has it that in 1545 the explorer Ortiz de Retez reached the island, noticed that most islanders had curly hair and called it "the island of curly-haired people," a name that has stuck ever since. Papua New Guinea lies east of Indonesia and has a typical island climate, sitting between the equator and 10 degrees south latitude. With tropical rainforest volcanic soil and plateau terrain at elevations between 1,200-2,500 meters, it is a paradise for coffee cultivation.

Local production is not large, with about 85% of total coffee output coming from smallholders' garden cultivation. Smallholders join local cooperatives to share processing equipment. Coffee is Papua New Guinea's second-largest agricultural export by volume, showing how important the industry is to the economy. Because the varieties differ from Indonesia's, the elevations are higher than Sumatra's and the processing is washed, PNG coffee's regional flavor is quite different from Indonesia's earthy, heavy notes. Instead it has brightness, sweet-tart notes and floral and fruit aromas, closer to South American coffee.

Papua New Guinea enjoys a pristine natural environment and vast, fertile land. Its unique volcanic soil and abundant rainfall create excellent conditions for coffee. Papua New Guinea's premium beans are as beautiful and precious as the country's national bird, the bird of paradise.

Kimel Estate: A Unique Cooperative

Large plantations typically have their own washing stations, while smaller individual growers can often control the quality and flavor of their output more closely. Located in Papua New Guinea's western highlands near the Kimel River Valley in the Waghi Valley, Kimel Estate, like many large plantations, has its own dedicated washing station. In fact, it is an estate jointly owned by many independent small farmers from the surrounding Opais people, a private cooperative in a sense. Thanks to excellent growing conditions and the washing station's stable quality control, the coffee has lively brightness while preserving a good deal of Papua New Guinea's distinctive regional character.

Another special aspect is the diversity of varieties grown at Kimel, more than you can count on one hand: Typica, Arusha, Blue Mountain, Mundo Novo, Catimor, Caturra and more. Just as one would not put all one's eggs in a single basket, most farmers plant several varieties to avoid the risk of poor growth or disappointing output from any one of them, which also creates interesting variation in the coffee's flavor.

Brewing and Tasting Notes

For pour-over Papua New Guinea coffee: use 15g of coffee, a medium grind (Fuji Royal grinder #4), a V60 dripper and water at 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water and let it bloom for 27 seconds. Then pour to 105g and, when the water level drops halfway, continue pouring slowly to 225g. Avoid the tail. Use a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, with a total extraction time of 2:00.

This Kimel Estate Peaberry offers hints of spice in the mouthfeel, followed by sweet, refreshing notes of nuts and sugarcane. It has a creamy, buttery smoothness and the more substantial mouthfeel typical of peaberries. The overall performance is balanced and smooth, the flavor rich and the aroma pleasant, with no herbal or earthy notes. Its texture is as rich and full-bodied as a Van Gogh painting.

Product Information

Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk
Origin: Papua New Guinea

Coffee Details

Country: Papua New Guinea
Grade: PB Peaberry
Region: Waghi Valley
Roast Level: Medium Roast
Processing Method: Washed
Varieties: Arusha, Catimor, Caturra

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you enjoy the smooth, nutty, low-acid character of this PNG peaberry, FrontStreet Coffee's Sumatran Mandheling is the rich, earthy counterpoint the article mentions. FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling from the Lintong region, wet-hulled and medium-dark roasted, brings caramel, black chocolate and toasted bread over a low-acid, full body, while the PWN Gold Mandheling refines that same profile with G1 grading and hand sorting. For the creamier side, FrontStreet Coffee's Classic Espresso Blend marries Mandheling with Brazilian beans and a touch of Robusta for a buttery, toffee-rich shot.