What is "Little Blue Mountain" Coffee? Introduction to Papua New Guinea Paradise Bird Coffee Beans

When it comes to balanced and full-bodied coffee, many people think of the highly prestigious Blue Mountain Coffee. After all, as early as the last century, Blue Mountain Coffee had already gained global fame, earning the title of "King of Coffee" and becoming a representative of classic specialty coffee in many people's minds. However, due to its high quality and limited production, Blue Mountain Coffee has always been expensive. So, is there a more cost-effective alternative?

FrontStreet Coffee: Papua New Guinea Paradise Bird Coffee Beans

Country: Papua New Guinea

Origin: Sigri Paradise Bird Estate

Altitude: 1600-1800m

Grade: AA

Variety: Typica

Processing: Washed

Flavor: Nuts, cocoa, gentle citrus acidity, cream, caramel aftertaste

FrontStreet Coffee features a bean known as the "Little Blue Mountain," originating from Papua New Guinea with the beautiful name "Paradise Bird." This coffee is made from the Typica variety introduced from Jamaica's Blue Mountains, processed using traditional washing methods. When presented as a medium roast, it produces distinct aromas of hazelnut, toast, sugarcane, and caramel after brewing, while maintaining subtle, gentle acidity with a balanced and clean口感.

Papua New Guinea might be an unfamiliar country to many, who may have only heard of its abbreviation "PNG." In fact, the country is located in Oceania and is an island nation composed of the eastern part of Indonesia's New Guinea island and over 600 surrounding islands.

Papua New Guinea lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, featuring tropical rainforests and numerous volcanoes. Coffee is primarily grown in the central mountainous regions at altitudes between 1200-2500 meters. The country has a standard island climate with average temperatures in the inland highlands ranging from 18-29°C. The year is divided into dry and rainy seasons, with an average annual rainfall of 2500 millimeters. To enhance Papua's commercial coffee development, Typica seeds from Jamaica were introduced to the region in 1931. Due to the highly similar environmental conditions and climate between the two regions, these coffee seeds quickly adapted to the local environment.

Typica coffee trees are relatively tall, with bronze-colored leaves at the top. The coffee beans are large, elongated, with pointed tips that slightly curve upward, somewhat resembling an egg. Typica coffee beans often feature citrus acidity with a sweet aftertaste, praised by many as elegant and refined coffee beans. Unfortunately, Typica trees grow tall, making harvesting inconvenient. Typica coffee trees are quite tall, approximately 5 meters/16.5 feet. They form a conical shape with slightly inclined branches, where lateral branches form 50-70° angles with the vertical stem. Their trunks are slender with thin branches. Due to their height and long-branch characteristics, sufficient spacing must be maintained between Typica plants during cultivation.

Additionally, Typica has poor disease resistance, making it difficult to resist common diseases such as leaf rust and coffee berry disease. Its yield is also very scarce. As an economic crop, coffee struggles to achieve profitability, causing many growers in various regions to abandon it in favor of varieties with better disease resistance. Cultivating Typica coffee beans with excellent flavor requires more investment in labor costs and cultivation techniques, which is why Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is so precious.

Since Papua New Guinea also primarily processes coffee using the washed method, the resulting Typica coffee is very similar to that produced in Jamaica's Blue Mountains, earning it the nickname "Little Blue Mountain." FrontStreet Coffee has conducted comparative cupping sessions, finding that Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee offers a fuller flavor profile, primarily featuring dark chocolate and cookie aromas, while washed Papua New Guinea coffee tends toward almond-like nutty notes, accompanied by the sweetness of sugarcane and bright grapefruit acidity.

Furthermore, to diversify coffee cultivation, Papua New Guinea later introduced other coffee varieties such as Bourbon, Mundo Novo, and Caturra. In Papua New Guinea, coffee is concentrated in four major growing regions in the central part of the country. Most coffee is grown by small-scale farmers, with large-scale coffee estates being few and far between. Among these, Sigri Estate is the most well-known.

Sigri Estate is also known as Paradise Bird Estate domestically because its estate logo features a bird of paradise (which is also Papua New Guinea's national bird). The estate is located in the Wahgi Valley within the Western Highlands province, at an average altitude exceeding 1500 meters. Sigri Estate covers 128 hectares and has a long history, established in the 1950s by founder Tom Cole, a renowned hunter. However, the estate was later acquired by WR Carpenter Company-PNG, Papua's largest company.

The company owns 2800 hectares of land in Papua New Guinea for cultivating tea and Arabica coffee beans, along with 4 processing plants and 1 coffee mill. It remains Papua New Guinea's largest producer and exporter of coffee and tea, accounting for approximately 80% of the country's exports. Therefore, Sigri Estate can be said to possess the most advanced local technology and equipment. The company also places great emphasis on environmental protection, refusing to use pesticides and insecticides to protect water sources and soil. For many years, it has maintained high-standard cultivation and processing methods, earning international recognition.

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