It can be said that everyone knows Blue Mountain Coffee, but not many people may have heard of Little Blue Mountain Coffee. Question, is Little Blue Mountain Coffee Blue Mountain Coffee? No, Little Blue Mountain is actually a bean from the Papua New Guinea production area. Due to historical reasons, the Typica variety was introduced from Jamaica, and the planting altitude and island-type terroir and climate, as well as the aroma of the coffee, are very similar to those of the orthodox Blue Mountain. Therefore, the originally awkward name was dropped and it was called "Little Blue Mountain Coffee".
Papua New Guinea (Papua New Guinea, can be abbreviated as PNG)
Papua New Guinea is an island country in Oceania. In Malay, "Papua" means "curly hair". It is said that the explorer Letes arrived on the island in 1545 and discovered that most of the people on the island had curly hair, so he called the island the "Island of Curly Haired People", hence the name, and the name has been passed down.
Papua New Guinea is located east of Indonesia, close to the Solomon Islands, between the equator and 10 degrees south latitude. It has a standard island climate. There are tropical rainforests, volcanic rocks and plateau terrain, with an altitude of 1,200-2,500 meters. It is characterized by high temperatures and high humidity all year round. The average annual temperature in the flatlands is about 24°C, and the temperature gradually decreases with increasing altitude.
The history of coffee growing in Papua New Guinea
In 1892, Dutch sailors began to introduce coffee and began to multiply in the Rigo District of Papua New Guinea.
In 1908, 180 acres of land in Papua New Guinea were planted with coffee.
In 1931, Typica was introduced to Papua New Guinea from Jamaica. At that time, the British had occupied Jamaica for nearly 300 years. The most representative coffee in Jamaica was the Blue Mountain type of Typica. Since Australia and the United Kingdom have friendly relations, it is reasonable for Papua New Guinea to introduce Typica.
In 1950, Bourbon coffee beans were introduced from Kenya. Coincidentally, Kenya was also a British colony at the time. The government encouraged open cultivation, allowing the coffee industry to grow significantly in the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1961, after the end of World War II, the western part of the island of New Guinea, formerly part of the Netherlands, declared independence and the country was named "West Papua". However, just a few months later, it was invaded by Indonesia, which also gained independence. Indonesia established Irian Jaya Province here. (After 2003, it was planned to be Papua and West Papua provinces).
In 1962, the coffee beans of Papua New Guinea were imported from Brazil to New World and Caturra. Since then, the quality of Papua New Guinea coffee beans has greatly improved.
The 1975 frost destroyed most of Brazil's coffee crops, but stimulated the development of Papua New Guinea coffee. The government implemented a program to subsidize the creation of about 20 hectares of coffee plantations in rural areas. This measure did increase the penetration of coffee cultivation into the local economy, and by 1990, annual output had reached 1 million bags.
Papua New Guinea coffee growing areas
Coffee is Papua New Guinea’s second largest exported agricultural product, which shows the importance of the coffee industry to the local economy. The local coffee bean production is not large. About 80% of the total production is produced by small farmers' garden cultivation systems. Many of them are cultivated and cultivated in forest areas, and the quality is quite high. Because the output is small, small farmers will join local cooperatives and share the cooperative's processing equipment.
Papua New Guinea's specialty coffee beans are mainly grown in Wahigi Valley and Sigri in the western highlands. Arona, Kimel, Arokare and Goroka in the eastern highlands are all famous representatives. Because the coffee varieties are different from those in Indonesia, and the altitude is higher than that of Sumatra, and the coffee beans produced in the country are processed by washing, Front Street believes that the regional flavor of Papua New Guinea coffee is very different from the spices, herbs and low taste of Indonesian coffee beans. Instead, it has more bright and lively sweet and sour taste and nutty aroma, which is closer to the flavor of South America.
The "Little Blue Mountain" on Front Street is selected from the Sigeria Manor planted in the Western Highlands. It was established in 1950 and is a pioneer of local coffee. The estate is located in the Waghi Valley, which is home to diverse ecological natural resources, including Papua New Guinea’s national symbol: the Bird of Paradise. Therefore, Sikri Manor is also known as Bird of Paradise Manor.
Sikri Manor uses natural and organic cultivation methods without using any chemical fertilizers. The ripe fruits are manually harvested and screened. They are processed on the day of harvest and sent to the washing and processing plant in the manor for raw bean processing. Interestingly, the local water washing in Papua New Guinea is different from the operation in Central and South America. Here, three water washing and fermentation are used, each time soaking for about 24 hours, and clean water is replaced to control the coffee flavor; after washing, the green beans are sent to drying, and finally the shell is removed and various classifications are carried out. The washed coffee has better cleanliness, a medium touch, and the most consistent green bean quality.
I believe everyone knows that Jamaican Blue Mountain can be said to be one of the most expensive coffees in the specialty market. The price of Front Street Bird of Paradise, known as the "Little Blue Mountain", is less than half of it, so it is often used as a "substitute". So if price aside, how similar is it to the authentic Front Street Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee?
bird of paradise, blue mountains
Here we first look at the appearance of the green beans. Since they are of the same variety and both have been washed, the shapes and colors of Front Street Little Blue Mountain and Front Street Blue Mountain are very similar.
blue mountains, bird of paradise
In terms of baking, Front Street hopes to maximize the sweetness of nuts, but considering the different flavor tones of the two, adjustments will be made.
Front Street Little Blue Mountain Bird of Paradise Coffee focuses on a balanced and clean taste without sacrificing soft acidity. It is suitable for medium roasting. When brewing, you can drink cocoa, toast, fried nut flavors and bright citrus acid; Front Street Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 has a strong baking aroma as the main tone, with a balance of sour, bitter and sweet, and a higher mellowness. Therefore, it is presented in a medium-dark roast, and the entrance is aroma of caramel, chocolate, cream, and roasted hazelnuts.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
