After three days of high volatility, things have momentarily calmed down enough for the Estate to resume operations. We are finally going to make it to the Estate lab. There is still some doubt within me that some obstacle might prevent this from happening, especially in the land of the unexpected, but this felt like our shot. Being a coffee buyer that travels to the origin, one of the extra benefits, if time allows, is exploring a new country and learning about people and their surrounding cultures. That is all part of the experience, but we are there to visit with the producers, walk the fields, and cup through the main crop coffees. It was time to accomplish our core mission for the trip.
That day I packed and repacked my day-pack several times. I remembered everything…my bottle of water, snacks, phone, chargers, camera, and lucky cupping spoon. Although my spoon brought little on the trips, I made sure to bring it. I was doing my best to keep my hopes in check. Finally, I heard a truck pull up. Barnabus was there to take us to the Estate. My excitement was at an all-time high during this trip. Barnabus greeted us and told us that the Estate team was waiting for us. Smiles as wide as the mighty Mississippi graced our faces. We grabbed our gear and jumped in the truck like little kids off to an amusement park. We exchanged pleasantries with Barnabus and caught up on our previous day with Cedrick. He can tell by our energy that we were excited to get to the Estate. Despite what was happening in the region and throughout the country, everyone maintained a cheerful demeanor. To ensure safety, we traveled through the back roads. It is a scenic route along unpaved roads through the countryside. Traveling these roads reminds me of playing a video game. Avoiding potholes is impossible, but having a driver that is fully aware of our surroundings and every hole on the road makes it a bit more manageable. I quickly got used to catching air in the backseat as the truck traversed the terrain. Finally, we turn off the main road, and the landscape changes. There are rows and rows of coffee trees under the shade of Casuarinas, AIbiza, and old-growth trees along the side of the road. The Estate maintains а medium density shade strategy which promotes good even ripening of the cherry. Every so often, I catch a glimpse of a coffee picker carrying a massive sack of freshly picked cherries. They always look so excited to greet us…I suppose I stick out like a sore thumb…not a lot of foreigners make it all the way here after all. Finally, we arrive at the gates of the Estate. A man with a machete comes to the driver’s side window. Barnabus rolls down his window and reaches out his hand to the man wielding the machete, who reaches out his free hand. It’s not a handshake, but more like a brief hand hold…Vikram gets one too and I get a wave. That kind of hurt my feelings but, being in the back, I guess I was a little too far away to hold hands…that’s what I told myself anyway. The man then walks back to the gate and unlocks it to allow us entry.
As we enter the Estate, I get a chill seeing so much coffee activity taking place. I see trucks filled with freshly picked cherries being weighed by the truckload and then heading to the wet mill. I see people carrying large sacks of freshly washed coffee on their heads back to the drying beds as the freshly washed coffee glistens in the sun. Nothing feels quite like being at origin and a sense of calm overwhelms me in that moment.
Barnabus pulls the truck in front of a building that reads ‘Sigri Estate Main Office.’ As we disembarked the vehicle, we are greeted by a man wearing khaki cargo pants and a matching vest. He was wearing a baseball-style hat and his salt and pepper hair peeked out from the sides, making him appear much older than he was. His dark eyes peered from under the brim of his hat. He reached out his hand and, with a firm handshake and a soft-spoken voice, introduced himself as Ghana, the general manager. He is responsible for the daily activities on the Estate and had taken over from the previous manager just before the pandemic. He led us into a familiar place with familiar faces. It was the QC lab.
Entering the lab was all too familiar. The smell of roasted coffee and the sound of grinding coffee sent goosebumps running through my body with excitement. I appreciate all we have on this trip, but I really love a big table covered in cupping bowls just waiting to be filled. I immediately recognized Martha from a previous visit. She is a beautiful human being with a small stature and great vibes. She is quiet and charming and speaks only a few words, but the lab is her domain and she runs that show. Having worked on the Estate for most of her life, she has become a master at sample roasting. She has a significant role within the Estate as she is responsible for sample roasting and setting up and breaking down all the cuppings. She manages a small team that helps her. They take her lead and dutifully tend to whichever task she directs.
Martha remembered me from our last visit and she greeted me with a warm smile. I could see she was preparing a big table with every coffee grade available plus some experimental coffees that are in the works. I was glad that I brought snacks. On the table amongst the many grades was Big Red, a Maragogype variety that was recently discovered on the Estate. Its enormous size stood out amongst the beans. It is a low-yielding coffee that requires extra time and effort to produce and harvest. Its flavor stands out amongst the other varieties and I consider it to currently be the best coffee in PNG. Before cupping, we gave Ghana a presentation based on the prior year’s experience with coffees, particularly Big Red. Sharing our feedback and experiences with the coffee is vital for the success and growth of all parties. We especially wanted to highlight Big Red since it is challenging to produce and requires extra time and effort. We talked briefly about our goals for the main crop season which just got into swing. Slowly, the smile that sat so big on his face slowly deteriorated and he took on a more serious demeanor.
At that moment, Martha peeked her head, notifying us that cupping was ready. This cupping was important for many reasons, including calibration. Calibrating and recalibrating our palates with our partners at origin is vital to our process. It allows us to understand how they describe coffee and vice versa. Even though we have all been trained in the standard cupping protocols and understand quality coffee, there is always a difference in cultures and language that can only be understood by tasting and discussing coffee in person. Just like any machine, regular calibration is necessary to keep things running smooth.
We tasted every grade of coffee and thoroughly discussed each of them. Although we are primarily buyers of specialty coffee, it is always good to taste all the coffee, including defect grades. Despite the lower grades, it puts everything into perspective. After the cupping, I was noticeably jacked up on caffeine and needed a snack. I reached into my bag and realized I had forgotten to use my lucky cupping spoon. Regardless of the missed opportunity, the coffee was excellent and I was still feeling lucky.
After the cupping, Ghana took us around the Estate to observe the daily operations. We toured the wet mill and observed truckloads of cherries dumped into the collection tanks before entering the wet pulper to begin their milling process.
I got an up-close look at how coffee moves through its full processing chain. Overall, it was impressive and I felt lucky to witness it again firsthand. We then made our way into the dry mill. We saw careful conditioning, hulling, grading, and color sorting. Finally, we watched a group of women do a final inspection of the coffee by carefully hand-sorting freshly milled green coffee. After touring the wet and dry mills, we got into Ghana’s truck to observe the coffee fields. Sigri estate is a significant Estate in PNG and it is necessary to have a vehicle to get around the many parts of the farm. We pulled up to one section that was blocked off. We asked Ghana what was happening in that area, and he looked at us with the familiar look he had earlier in the office before Martha brought us into the cupping. He said that it was quarantined to fight off CBB or the Coffee Berry Borer. He explained to us that during the pandemic, many of the neighboring farms were abandoned, leaving the coffee trees defenseless against pests, and one of those pests happened to be a tiny beetle (CBB) that bores holes in the cherry and then into the seed, leaving them damaged. He says it can be a severe problem if not handled correctly and that the Estate was doing everything in its power to prevent it from spreading throughout the farm. They quarantined part of the farm in order to isolate the pest in hopes of eradicating it. In other parts of the farm, they set alcohol traps that attract the pest and capture them. These measures are effective, but being surrounded by irregularly managed coffee land makes it a moving target. In addition to this ongoing battle, quarantining a section of the farm creates lower overall yields.
Despite the big flowering season, a large portion of the coffee also had to be aggregated into the lower commercial grades due to CBB damage. As coffee buyers and partners in this relationship, we are empathetic in the plight to handle the challenging environment and create fantastic coffee. We are there with them through the good and tough times, too, and together we can overcome these obstacles. There is no simple road in PNG, but we are along for the ride. We spent the next three days with Ghana. We explored the other Estates, Kindeng and Bunum Wo. We cupped more coffee until we fully calibrated and understood each other’s likes and dislikes, even calibrating our sample roasting techniques with the other lab managers on the respective Estates. Although it took us a couple of days to get to these Estates, it was worth every minute. I was thankful and could not help but feel lucky to have shared these moments with such wonderful people. I look forward to visiting with them again soon. Leaving the Estates was bittersweet, but I knew there were still adventures to explore in the Eastern Highlands. A long day on the Highlands Highway awaited us.