Lahamenegu Mill - Papua New Guinea

Region: Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province

Altitude: 1550 masl

Process: Natural

Varietal: Bourbon

We taste: Sugar Plum, Fudge, Cherry Cordial

The Lahamenegu Mill

The Lahamenegu wet mill was established in 1979 by Volcafe PNG. It is the largest wet mill in Papua New Guinea and can process over 9,000,000 kilos of coffee per year. This enables them to experiment with processing methods and maintain a consistently high quality crop.

PNG green coffee beans are usually wash-processed, but private ownership of a wet mill has its privileges. It means natural (or dry) processed PNG green coffees like this can be made to order. For natural coffee lots, cherry is only sourced from farms that are part of a registered supply chain. The Lahamenegu Mill encourages long-term relationships with smallholders, which in turn maintains production consistency and quality over the years.

The Natural Process

The Natural Process is a way of drying coffee cherries without using water to remove the fruit from the bean. It is the oldest method of processing coffee and is often used in regions where there are dry seasons (like Ethiopia). Natural processed beans are floated in water and the ripe cherries are sorted from the underripe cherries to ensure peak quality. The ripe cherries are then dried on raised beds in the sun and rotated in order to ensure they are dried evenly. The natural process allows the coffee beans to spend more time with the fruit which often results in more fruit-forward and juicy flavors in the cup.

In the Cup

This coffee is a fantastic cozy treat and a wonderful way to start the day. It has sweet aromatics with notes of dried cranberry and cherry. When hot, it tastes like candied fruit and chocolate fudge with a creamy, silky mouthfeel. As it cools, there are more red-fruit notes, with a flavor resembling raspberry chocolate truffles. Overall, this coffee is the perfect way to start a winter day - and really hard to stop drinking!