How do Papua New Guinea plantation coffee beans taste?

Papua New Guinea coffee is often called Little Blue Mountain because the Typica variety was introduced from Jamaica Blue Mountain, and island growing conditions are similar. The Bird of Paradise lot comes from Sigri Estate in Western Highlands Province, founded in 1950 in the Waghi Valley above 1,500 meters. Expect nut and cocoa notes, soft berry sweetness, balanced body and gentle acidity.

The estate uses volcanic soil, a cool climate, pesticide-free cultivation and hand-picking. Because the growing area sits near 6 degrees south, closer to the equator than Blue Mountain near 18 degrees north, the cup shows an extra layer of dark fruit sweetness and acidity. Roasting and staged brewing follow the green bean appearance and estate story.

Papua New Guinea coffee is often called "Little Blue Mountain," a name closely tied to its introduction of the Jamaican Typica variety and similar island growing conditions. This year, Front Street Coffee selected Bird of Paradise coffee from Sigri Estate in Western Highlands Province. Established in 1950, the estate sits in the Waghi Valley at over 1,500 meters, with volcanic soil and a cool climate, and it insists on pesticide-free cultivation and hand-picking. This article will provide a complete analysis of the flavor performance of this Front Street Papua New Guinea Bird of Paradise coffee—from origin background, variety source, estate story, green bean appearance, roasting curve, to a staged brewing method—featuring nut and cocoa notes, accompanied by soft berry sweetness, a rich and balanced mouthfeel, and gentle acidity.

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Papua New Guinea may be quite unfamiliar to most people, but in the coffee world, what makes this country memorable is a bean called "Bird of Paradise." Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will now talk about Front Street Papua New Guinea Bird of Paradise coffee.

Papua New Guinea

The country is located in the southwestern Pacific, with its main territory on the island of New Guinea. A straight boundary line cuts the island into east and west halves: the western half belongs to Indonesia, while the eastern half is Papua New Guinea. Because the full name is too long to say, people usually shorten it to "Papua" or simply use the English abbreviation "PNG."

Many people call Papua coffee Little Blue Mountain because the variety grown in Papua is exactly the Typica introduced from Jamaica Blue Mountain, and the growing environment, altitude, and rainfall conditions are extremely similar. After introduction, Typica quickly adapted to the terroir of New Guinea. From both the variety source and the island-type growing environment, calling it Little Blue Mountain is truly fitting.

However, the latitude of Papua's coffee-producing region (6 degrees south) is closer to the equator than Blue Mountain (about 18 degrees north), so when tasted carefully, the flavor still differs from Blue Mountain. Papua coffee has an extra layer of dark fruit sweetness and acidity.

Front Street Bird of Paradise Coffee

This year, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) selected Front Street Sigri Estate Bird of Paradise coffee. Here, we need to add some background on how Bird of Paradise coffee got its name. Most Papua coffee circulating in the domestic market comes from two estates: Sigri Estate and Purosa Estate. The coffee sacks they export are printed with the Bird of Paradise pattern, and the Bird of Paradise is Papua's national bird.

The first Papua coffee beans Front Street imported came from Sigri Estate, and at that time, the domestic market named this bean "Bird of Paradise." Later, when coffee from Purosa Estate was imported, its sacks also bore the Bird of Paradise pattern. To distinguish the two beans, the later one had to be called by the estate name. Although this was slightly unfair to the newcomer, after years of subtle influence, Sigri and Bird of Paradise have long been linked in people's minds.

Of course, Sigri Estate is fully worthy of the name Bird of Paradise. This year's green beans are plump, emerald green in color, and excellent in appearance.

Sigri Estate

Founded in 1950, Sigri Estate has a history of more than 60 years and is a pioneer of the local coffee industry. The estate is located in the Waghi Valley of Western Highlands Province, in mountainous terrain above about 1,500 meters, with mineral-rich volcanic soil, a cool climate, fertile soil, and abundant rainfall.

Sigri Estate also places great emphasis on ecological protection. To protect soil and water sources, the estate refuses to use pesticides and insecticides, treats the ecosystem and surrounding birds kindly, and often attracts many birds of paradise to perch there, which is why it is also known as Bird of Paradise Estate. For many years, Bird of Paradise Estate has consistently adhered to a high-standard cultivation and processing system. During the harvest season from April to September each year, only fully ripe red coffee cherries are hand-picked, bringing the acidity and sweetness in the coffee cherries into perfect balance. At Bird of Paradise Estate, cupping is conducted every day to ensure that the plantation provides customers with consistently top-quality coffee. Because of this, Bird of Paradise Estate has become a classic representative of world-class specialty coffee.

Front Street Papua New Guinea Bird of Paradise Region: Papua New Guinea Western Highlands Province

Estate: Sigri Estate Altitude: 1,800 meters Variety: Typica Processing Method: Washed

When I first received this Front Street Bird of Paradise coffee, comparing it with Front Street Blue Mountain No. 1, which is also washed, it was truly hard to tell them apart.

Guess which of the following images is Bird of Paradise and which is Blue Mountain.

Answer revealed

(Top) Bird of Paradise (Bottom) Washed Blue Mountain

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses a medium roast for this bean. Because Typica is a relatively low-density green bean, in order to highlight its inherent refreshing acidity and fruity aroma, the focus is placed on heat adjustment after first crack. The roaster temperature is raised to 170°C for charging, airflow set to 3, heat at 140°C, turning point at 1'36"; at 140°C, airflow is opened to 4; roast to 6'25'' at 151°C, the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, dehydration is complete, and at 176°C the heat is lowered to 110; airflow changed to 4;

At 180°C, heat is lowered to 90. Ugly wrinkles and dark streaks appear on the bean surface, and the toast aroma clearly turns into coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, heat is raised to 183.5°C, and at 10'08'' first crack begins, airflow fully open. At 188°C, heat is reduced to 60, airflow fully open (adjusting heat must be done very carefully, not so low that there is no crackling sound; control the rate of temperature rise after first crack within 6 degrees). First crack development time is 3'00", and the beans are dropped at 198.5°C.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Brewing Recipe Using 15 grams of coffee grounds as an example, use a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, medium-coarse grind (65% passing a No. 20 standard sieve), and water temperature of 88°C. Use a KONO Meimon dripper.

This time, a staged brewing method is used. Slowly add the coffee grounds. In the first stage, pour 30g of water in a small circle in the center and bloom for 30 seconds. During the first pour, the dry coffee bed will slowly absorb water and expand into a "hamburger."

In the second stage, pour 120g in circles from the center outward, keeping the pouring height as close to the coffee bed as possible, moving slowly to avoid excessive agitation. In the final stage, pour 75g, reaching a total pour of 225g. Wait until all the coffee liquid in the dripper has flowed into the server to end extraction. Extraction time is 2 minutes.

[Front Street Papua New Guinea Bird of Paradise Coffee] Flavor: mainly rich nutty and cocoa notes, with a slight berry sweetness. It tastes rich and balanced, with a sweet finish and gentle acidity.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.