NEW GUINEA KIMEL ESTATE
Our July coffee of the month is from the Kimel estate in Papua New Guinea. This coffee has a medium body and a fairly low acidity. The cup starts very mild with a touch of strawberry acidity. As it develops on the palate, notes of rhubarb pie begin to flourish on the roof of the mouth. The rhubarb combines with notes of wafer cookies in the long, dry finish.
Roast Color: Medium
Cupping Notes: Rhubarb Pie, Strawberry, Wafer Cookie
Story: Kimel plantation was first established in 1974 by an Australian, Bobby Gibbs, but is now owned by native tribal landowners, the Opais being the main tribe. The plantation has a permanent workforce of 432 and they are housed on the estate in traditional bush housing. The estate also provides schooling for the children and medical facilities for the workforce and their dependents. Clean running water has been made available to the estate workers by way of a community project, and its implementation is overseen by the estate’s management.
The Kimel River, from which the estate derives its name, runs along the estate and provides access to good, clean water for the processing of its crop. The estate’s management also implements ecology-friendly policies with regard to environmental issues, such as the recycling of pulp which is returned to the fields as organic fertilizer, and the recycling of water used during the wet processing. The cultivation is conducted under shade trees, like albizias and gravilleas.
