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THE KEY REQUIREMENTS FOR GROWING AN EXCEPTIONAL ARABICA VARIETY COFFEE ARE
High elevation of about 1600m is necessary. Cool to moderate temperatures (15c to 24c) and no frost, this is an idyllic climate for coffee to thrive in the highlands of PNG.
The extremes of dry or the very hot weather conditions, could have a serious impact on coffee production, and in same cases devastate entire coffee plantations. This was evident in July 1975, Brazil "Parana"that is the main coffee producing region. Temperatures fell to freezing overnight thus devastating the coffee trees. This significant event was named as "Black Frost" it had eliminated nearly all the coffee trees of that region resulting in the doubling of the world coffee prices and so far to drive many out of business.
However the inferior and bitter tasting Robusta coffee, is a cheap alternative coffee to the quality Arabica and is widely used in commercial blends for making instant coffees. Robusta coffee does not require the same growing conditions that the Arabica coffee variety do. Robusta coffee grow in Uganda, India, Brazil, Indonesia and in significant volumes in Vietnam. In recent decades good farming practices were introduced to care for their natural habitat, these were known as shade grown bird friendly coffee. Usually the practice by farmer was to clear land cut down trees to plant coffee, bydoing so birds and other wildlife to were forced to migrate, coffee was planted around trees below the canopy offering shade, and were also planted near other growing fruit trees.
Soil quality is just as important in the cycle of growing coffee. A volcanic soil is rich in nutrients and with the adequate supply of water with equally good drainage is also a key factor for growing exceptional coffee. Usually coffee trees are found growing on steep hillside, however the larger scale coffee plantations tend to be on flat land, where the producer will use mechanical harvester for stripping the coffee cherries, and this is not best method as will remove ripe and unripe, and also black cherries.
When the cherries appear a deep red (maroon) color, at this very stage they are considered to be ripe and the harvest is ready to commence. The harvest begins with ripe coffee cherries carefully hand selected from the tree branch. This hard work is either carried out by small coffee lot owners, farmers, or on a large scale, by plantation workers. Depending on the coffee growing region, coffee harvest periods are at different times of the year. In Papua New Guinea, the best coffee harvest period is usually between the months of May to August, whereas the Brazil harvest period is July to October.
The collected bags of coffee cherries are delivered to a co-operative or mill for further processing. This stage is called a “wet process” and the skin of the cherry is removed by a mechanical method, in which it is pressed in water against a screen, exposing the two sticky halves. These parchment encased half beans are further processed until parchment is removed by a water process and hulling. The green or raw coffee beans are a further washed and sun dried, resulting in a superior tasting coffee to other processing methods.
THE COFFEE STAGES
Growing coffee, Picking “harvest”, Processing by wet method, Milling and Hulling the parchment, Polishing the green bean, Cleaning, Drying – Sun, not electric driers, Sorting and Grading, Packing green bean into hessian bags, Storage prior to export. Roasting is done in house with our traditional gas powered batch roaster, we don't rely on technology, instead we carefully watch color changes and listen to the cracking of beans taking place in coffee. Cooling of coffee – The hot roasted beans are fast cooled with powerful hot air extractors, ensuring consistency in every roast.
We decided against the use of water to cool roasted coffee, as this alters coffee taste. Equally important are the final stages that involve Grinding and Brewing, otherwise the incorrect roast profile used for espresso or filter method can result in disappointment. The incorrect weight of ground coffee or the water volume used to make a cup of coffee, even a faulty appliance will alter the taste of coffee. Either the taste is weak, too strong, burnt or sour, these are disappointments and are common with coffee drinkers.
At Iggy's Coffee we care to ensure our customers satisfaction of our product. By asking the customer questions, ie., what coffee taste they prefer or like, for example espresso, long black, cappuccino, late etc., or the appliance or method used to make the beverage. We do this so that we could identify the right bean profile best suited for customer and also suitable for their appliance, therefore ensuring we provide the correct product and everyone is satisfied.