Timor Leste Lutlala Espresso

About this coffee

Timor-Leste has a fascinating and long coffee history. Coffee was first cultivated in the early 19th century while the territory was under Portuguese colonial rule. The Portuguese had arrived for sandalwood but after they exhausted the supply, coffee became the primary export. In the 1920’s a spontaneous interspecific cross between robusta and arabica was discovered, Hibrido de Timor. This became the genetic foundation for almost all leaf rust resistant varieties world wide. East Timor's total production is relatively small at around 160,000 bags or 550 containers in a good year. The local market is dominated by a duopoly of exporters that account for nearly 80% of the total exports. Timor’s production is primarily commercial grade arabica, with small volumes of robusta and comparatively tiny volumes of specialty. Despite it’s incredible potential, Timor’s coffee industry has staggered particularly in recent times of war and ensuing political, economic and social volatility. Lutlala is a newly established cherry processing station in the village community of Haupu, (where our Timor in the Arrival Blend is from) in Letefoho subdistrict. The site land owner and community leader for this project is Sr. Domingos Sarmento, a freedom fighter during the Indonesian occupation who went on to become Minister of Justice for the Timorese government. Now retired from government, Sr. Domingos’ intention is to support the development of the coffee sector for Timorese, specifically in his home district of Ermera. In 2018 the groundwork and water access for the site commenced. In early 2019 a partnership was established with local agribusiness FarmPro to manage operations. FarmPro has been working in Ermera district since 2013 with small-holder farmers, distributing seed, fertilizer, building capacity, and marketing their produce. With coffee by far the most important cash crop in Timor Leste, our collective focus is on increasing production and quality in order to improve farmer livelihoods. 549 farmers from 23 villages contributed cherry to the Lutlala station during this inaugural year of production. All cherry is first sorted for density by flotation and for ripeness by hand. Cherry is placed directly onto raised beds the following morning, after sunrise. Naturals are further hand-sorted for ripeness during the drying period, which on average lasts 21 days. Lutlala is situated on a north facing slope which enjoys a regular breeze, making it a strategic location for drying. After moisture reaches 10-11% cherry pods is conditioned for one month prior to dry-milling and hand-sorting at Railaco. *all coffee delivered as whole bean unless specified* *please comment with grind type if you would like your coffee ground*