Characteristics of Papua New Guinea Bird of Paradise Coffee Beans and the Story of Jamaican Typica, Asia's Little Blue Mountain

Introduction to Papua New Guinea Coffee

The British first brought Typica to Jamaica, creating the famous Blue Mountain coffee, and later introduced it to Papua. Papua New Guinea, formed by merging with New Guinea, is the largest island nation in the South Pacific. The Typica grown there comes from British stock, earning it the nickname "Little Blue Mountain." Papua New Guinea boasts a pristine, natural environment with vast, fertile land. Its unique volcanic soil and abundant rainfall create excellent natural conditions for coffee cultivation. Premium Papua New Guinea coffee, like the country's national bird the bird-of-paradise, is beautiful and precious. Let's explore this Papua New Guinea coffee together with FrontStreet Coffee.

Geography and Climate of Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea (Independent State of Papua New Guinea,简称PNG) consists of two parts: northern New Guinea and southern Papua, located east of Indonesia. The southern part of Papua New Guinea consists of plains and lowlands, the southeastern coastal region, while the central part is the central mountain range, and the northern part consists of several separate mountain ridges.

Areas above 1000 meters altitude in Papua New Guinea have a mountain climate, while the lower altitude areas have a tropical rainforest climate. May to October is the dry season, November to April is the rainy season. Average temperatures in coastal areas range from 21.1-32.2°C, while mountain areas range from 16.1-22.2°C. Rainfall is abundant, with average annual precipitation of 2500mm. Forest resources are rich, with tropical virgin forests covering approximately 86.4% of the country's land area. It has a rich and unique ecosystem of flora and fauna, with about 6500 native plant species and 380 native bird species.

In addition, Papua New Guinea's mineral resources are very rich with huge development potential, especially gold and copper resources, which hold a significant position worldwide. Other major minerals include oil and natural gas. Before FrontStreet Coffee stocked Papua New Guinea coffee beans, we considered that the country's rich mineral resources, compared to the coffee industry, would show obvious differences in returns. People would certainly choose more profitable industries, which would cause some instability in the relatively poor coffee industry. Unlike Brazilian coffee, which is an important component of the national economy and receives strong development support. FrontStreet Coffee recently decided to stock a Papua New Guinea Bird of Paradise coffee bean, mainly because the coffee beans produced by this estate in recent times have been quite stable. FrontStreet Coffee also cupped several batches before, and their flavors had commendable qualities.

History of Papua New Guinea Coffee

In 1511, the Portuguese discovered the island of New Guinea. Finding that the skin color of local residents was quite similar to that of people from Equatorial Guinea in Africa, they named it New Guinea Island. Genetically speaking, the residents of New Guinea Island belong to the pure yellow race.

In 1884, the Dutch drove out the Portuguese and occupied the western half of New Guinea Island, roughly corresponding to what is now Indonesia's Papua Province region. At the same time, France occupied the southeastern part of the island and named it New Ireland. Later, the French-occupied area came under British rule, while the northeastern part of the remaining island was occupied by Germany. This formed the pattern where the western part of New Guinea Island belonged to the Netherlands, the southeast to Britain, and the northeast to Germany.

In 1906, Britain transferred British New Guinea to Australia for administration.

In 1914, World War I broke out, and Germany was unable to attend to its overseas territories. The northeastern part of New Guinea was also annexed by Australia. Roughly bounded by longitude 141°E, the western part of New Guinea Island belonged to the Netherlands, while the eastern part belonged to Australia.

In 1931, Typica was introduced to Papua New Guinea from Jamaica. At that time, Britain had occupied Jamaica for nearly 300 years, and Jamaica's most representative coffee was the Typica variety Blue Mountain coffee. Since Australia had friendly relations with Britain, it was reasonable for Papua New Guinea to introduce Typica. FrontStreet Coffee often uses the name "Little Blue Mountain" to introduce Papua New Guinea coffee to customers. After all, the historical reasons support this, and the name "Little Blue Mountain" is indeed much easier to remember than Papua New Guinea.

In 1950, Bourbon coffee beans were introduced from Kenya. Coincidentally, Kenya was also a British colony at that time. Government encouragement for open cultivation allowed the coffee industry to grow significantly during the 1970s-1980s.

In 1961, after World War II, the western part of New Guinea Island, formerly belonging to the Netherlands, declared independence as "West Papua," but only a few months later, it was invaded by armed forces from newly independent Indonesia. Indonesia established Irian Jaya Province there. After 2003, it was further divided into Papua and West Papua provinces.

In 1962, Mundo Novo and Caturra were introduced from Brazil, marking a great leap forward in Papua New Guinea coffee bean quality.

In 1975, Australia granted complete independent sovereignty, establishing Papua New Guinea. The eastern part became independent New Guinea, while the western part remained under Indonesian administration as Papua, forming the current "one island, two countries" situation.

Papua New Guinea Coffee Growing Regions

Most Papua New Guinea coffee beans are grown in mountainous areas. The highland regions of Papua New Guinea are divided into two main provinces, including Eastern Highlands and Western Highlands.

In the Eastern Highlands province, coffee is typically grown in Goroka and Kainantu, with the Arona and Purosa estates being the most famous. In the Western Highlands province, coffee is usually produced in the outer ring of Mount Hagen city. The Kimel estate, located north of Mount Hagen, produces high-quality coffee beans, and the Wahgi Valley near Mount Hagen is famous for its ideal coffee-growing climate and fertile volcanic soil. The Bird of Paradise estate comes from Wahgi Valley.

Besides these two provinces, other regions also grow coffee, but the quality of coffee beans produced there is generally lower, mostly consisting of Robusta varieties.

Papua New Guinea coffee bean production is not large, with about 85% of total production cultivated by small farmers. These small farmers join local cooperatives and share the cooperative's processing equipment. Although bordering Indonesia, due to different coffee varieties, higher altitudes than Indonesian Sumatra coffee regions, and primarily using washed processing methods, Papua New Guinea coffee flavors differ from Indonesia's heavy and earthy notes. Instead, they have bright acidity and sweetness, floral and fruit aromas, while maintaining richness, similar to South American flavors.

Papua New Guinea Coffee Bean Processing Methods

After harvesting ripe red coffee cherries, they are sent to the estate's own washing station for processing. The local washing process in Papua New Guinea differs from the washing methods used in Central and South America.

They employ a three-stage washed fermentation process, with each soaking lasting about 24 hours, replacing with clean water to control the coffee flavor. After washing, the parchment is removed from the beans and then sorted into various grades such as AA, AB, PB (peaberry), etc. This meticulous post-processing method brings bright and delicate fruit acidity to the coffee, with a clean and long-lasting sweet taste. FrontStreet Coffee has found that coffee-producing regions with strict grading systems have a common characteristic: their coffee beans have uniform size and fewer defective beans. In this case, during roasting, the color is even, and the taste is much cleaner. The most obvious example is when FrontStreet Coffee compared Indonesian Lintong Mandheling with Golden Mandheling. Golden Mandheling is extremely strict in selection, with very uniform bean size, and its taste cleanliness is significantly better than Lintong Mandheling.

Meaning and Rules of Papua New Guinea Green Coffee Bean Names

Naming follows the format: country + cultivation type + grade name. In Papua New Guinea, there are three cultivation types: plantations, large estates, and small to medium-sized farms. Plantations and Large Estates account for 25% of national production; small to medium-sized farms (Holdings or Blocks) of 10-20 hectares account for 10% of production.

The grade classification is as follows:

FrontStreet Coffee will use the most notable premium grades AA and A as examples:

AA and A grade coffees belong to the specialty coffee grade, mainly coming from larger estates. For AA grade, the bean size is larger than 18 mesh, with an oval flat bean shape. Defect count: maximum 10 defects per kilogram. Green bean appearance is greenish-blue. The green beans should taste clean, and the roasted taste should be clean and smooth. Cup quality must be excellent (Fine Cup).

A grade beans are larger than 17 mesh, with cup quality at least reaching GTF level (Good to Fine), meaning good to excellent taste. Other defect counts and green bean conditions are the same as AA.

Bird of Paradise Estate

The people of Papua New Guinea see the beautiful bird-of-paradise as a bird of freedom and happiness, a "gift from the divine." The Sigri estate Typica coffee beans, like bird migration, traveled from Jamaica's Blue Mountains over a long distance to Papua New Guinea for cultivation, carrying the same genetic heritage as Jamaica's Blue Mountains. This Blue Mountain heritage is also why Papua New Guinea Bird of Paradise coffee beans receive attention today. FrontStreet Coffee selects each coffee bean hoping for its unique characteristics, not wanting different beans with similar flavors. This is also why FrontStreet Coffee spends significant time on bean selection, adjusting roasting parameters, and other steps. A coffee bean can have similarities with other coffee beans, but it must also have distinguishing features.

According to current records, Wahgi Valley has more than 160 different bird species, among which the Bird of Paradise estate has 90 bird species inhabiting it, including Papua New Guinea's national symbol—the bird-of-paradise, truly living up to its name as a bird paradise. Therefore, the Sigri estate also acquired the name Bird of Paradise estate.

The estate was established in 1950 and has been operating for over 60 years, making it a pioneer in the local coffee industry. The Bird of Paradise estate is located in the Waghi Valley of the Western Highlands Province, at approximately 1500 meters altitude in high mountain regions. It has volcanic soil rich in minerals, cool climate, fertile soil, and abundant rainfall. The Bird of Paradise estate also places great emphasis on ecological protection, refusing to use pesticides and insecticides to protect soil and water sources, caring for the ecosystem and nearby birds.

The Bird of Paradise estate has consistently adhered to high standards of cultivation and processing systems for many years. During the harvest season from April to September each year, only fully mature red coffee cherries can be hand-picked, ensuring a perfect balance of acidity and sweetness in the coffee cherries. At the Bird of Paradise estate, cupping is performed daily to ensure the plantation provides customers with consistently excellent quality coffee. Thus, the Bird of Paradise estate has become a classic in the world of specialty coffee. As mentioned earlier, FrontStreet Coffee chose this Bird of Paradise estate coffee bean because of the estate's strict production chain, which ensures coffee bean quality.

Papua New Guinea Coffee Beans

Estate: Bird of Paradise Estate

Variety: Typica

Grade: AA

Altitude: 1600-1800 meters

Processing Method: Washed

Roasting Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using medium roast, because Typica beans have low density and are not very suitable for dark roast. To highlight the inherent refreshing acidity and fruit aromas, emphasis will be placed on heat adjustment after the first crack.

Yangjia 800N, 550g green beans input. Specific operation: Heat roaster to 200°C, open air damper to 3. After 1 minute of steaming, adjust heat to 160°C, air damper unchanged. When temperature reaches 160°C, adjust heat again to 115°C. Roast to 5'35", temperature 152°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy smell completely disappears, dehydration complete, adjust air damper to 4.

At 9 minutes, ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast aroma clearly transforms to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 8'40" first crack begins, maintain small heat, fully open air damper to 5 (adjust heat very carefully, not so small that there's no cracking sound). At 40 degrees, 191.3°C, unload from roaster.

FrontStreet Coffee Bird of Paradise Coffee Roasting Curve

FrontStreet Coffee Bird of Paradise Coffee Cupping Report

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a Kono dripper, because it has few ribs located at the bottom, allowing the filter paper to fit tightly against the dripper to achieve the effect of restricting airflow, thereby slowing water flow and increasing water-coffee contact time. This allows extraction of more coffee substances through immersion, enhancing richness.

Water temperature chosen is 88°C, which is a relatively low brewing temperature that can avoid extracting excessive off-flavors from the coffee beans during brewing, because the deeper the roast level of coffee beans, the more off-flavors will increase.

For coffee amount, FrontStreet Coffee chooses 15 grams and a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio. The grind size is determined by 80% pass rate through China standard #20 sieve.

FrontStreet Coffee uses segmented extraction, with 30g of water for 30-second bloom, then small circular pour to 125g, then continue pouring to 225g when water level drops to just expose the coffee bed. Extraction time is 2 minutes (starting from bloom timing).

FrontStreet Coffee Bird of Paradise Coffee Brewing

FrontStreet Coffee Bird of Paradise Coffee Brewing Flavor Description

Sweetness of toast, nutty sweetness, with slight fruit acidity creating a pleasant sweet-sour balance and good layering. Has fruit-like aromas, with a particularly sweet spiced aftertaste. The taste is rich and balanced.

FrontStreet Coffee Bird of Paradise Coffee Beans Final Product

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