Well ladies and gentlemen, after much excitement at Mercanta HQ, the coffee from our newest origin, East Timor, has finally arrived.
Lying almost equidistant between Indonesia and Australia, and cradled by the deep waters of the Banda and Timor seas, the country shares an island with Timor; a separate, and culturally distinct nation.
The island is the easternmost of Maritime Southeast Asia and a hitherto relatively undiscovered specialty coffee origin. But not for much longer.
Smokey, full bodied and peppery, these coffees are an interesting alternative to a typical Indonesian coffee.
Unlike the processing method used by its neighbour, the coffee in East Timor is fully washed. It is then sun-dried at an elevation of between 1300 and 2000 metres, depending of the cooperative.
Once dried, the coffee is transported in parchment to the Capital Dili, where it is hulled and hand-sorted.
We are buying from three different cooperatives in the administrative district of Ermera, which lies to the north west of the country, approximately 76 kilometres from the capital, Dili.
The coffees Letefoho, Lauana and Assui Craik, all have their own, distinct profiles, while still maintaining the characteristics typical of the region.
