Description
Overview of Timor-Leste (East Timor)
Situated in South East Asia with Australia to the South, Timor-Leste holds the unenviable accolade of being one of the few countries in the world to have been both colonised and annexed; colonised by Portugal from 1600s to 1975 and annexed by Indonesia from 1975 to 1999. Having finally gained independence in 2002, Timor-Leste is the world’s second youngest nation state and still finding its feet in the geo-political world of the 21st century. Coffee was introduced to the island by the Portuguese and went on to become the country’s leading export by the 1900s, however the industry suffered greatly during the years of Indonesian annexation when the sector was largely ignored.
Fast forward to the present day and you will see that the coffee farmers of Timor-Leste are working hard to collectively carve out a place for Timorese coffee in the global speciality coffee market.
Timorese coffee is truly wild and organically grown underneath the imposing shade trees that dominate the landscape. With time old traditions in processing coffee, passed on from generation to generation, coffee is helping to build up more opportunities for Timorese people to create a consistent and sustainable income from which to support and provide for their families and the local community.
Rotutu Natural
Origin: Rotutu, Letefoho, East Timor
Producer Group: Rotutu Cooperative (8 farmers)
Lead Farmer: Francisco de Deus
Altitude: 1420 masl
Varietal: Typica, Timor Hybrid
Process: Natural, African bed drying
Separated and Graded: Screen sizes 17-15
What we taste: Peach, Stone Fruit and hibiscus
The Timor Coffee Variety
The name “Timor-Leste” may sound familiar because the word “Timor” is also the name of a widespread coffee variety. “Timor” also appears in other varieties like “Catimor” or “Sarchimor”, names that, like their coffees, are hybrids of the two parent plants’ names.
It’s no coincidence the name “Timor” is so ubiquitous in our variety names, the first widely studied hybrid was found growing in Timor-Leste in the 1920s. The hybrid was the product of one Robusta and one Arabica plant mating. The resulting plant, which soon came to be known as Hybrido de Timor, after the island on which it was found, took on traits from both parent plants. The Timor hybrid was resistant to coffee leaf rust (CLR), like its Robusta parent, but also had higher cup quality, thanks to its Arabica parent.
The discovery of the Timor Hybrid coincided with the expansion of CLR across most of Central and East Africa and Asia. Since CLR spores can remain in soils long after the infected plants die (making it difficult to replant the same varieties), new CLR-resistant hybrids became essential to revitalizing coffee production in these regions. Since Timor’s discovery, scientists have bred countless other hybrid varieties to combat the CLR epidemic and the older Timor variety has played a central role in continuing to breed new resistant varieties with good cup quality, such as Marsellesa, Obata and Oro Azteca, to name a few.
A Word From Karst Organics
Being one of the original groups which we were introduced to back in 2017, Rotutu has become one of our most well-known fully washed coffees, so it made sense to expand into other processing methods with these members. Since 2021, we have trialled the processing of natural coffees at our processing facility, using the ripe red cherries harvested by the Rotutu members. This has allowed us to slowly hone the method used to process this coffee, which has seen a steady improvement in its cup quality over the past four years. Boasting a cup profile which oozes rich berries and wine-like sweetness, this natural processed coffee doesn’t disappoint.
Each of the Rotutu members conscientiously harvests only the ripest cherries which allows for the sweetest red cherries to be used for natural processing. Once collected, they are then floated and any small or damaged cherries are removed before being place into sealed bags to allow for an overnight ferment. The following morning, the cherries are then laid out to dry on portable drying racks where they are turned at regular intervals to allow for even and consistent drying. This process is continued over a number of weeks until the moisture level reaches 9.5%. Once dried, the cherries are then stored and rested for 6 weeks before the final hulling process takes place.
Over the years, we have experienced great differences in the drying times of this natural processed coffee due to the impact of climate change, however thankfully during the 2024 harvest, the climate was much drier. This allowed for a more manageable average drying time of 25 days.
Information and Pictures supplied by Karst Organics
How to store coffee at home
To keep your coffee as fresh as possible, you need to protect your coffee from air, sunlight, heat, and moisture. These all will contribute to making it stale and lose flavour.
We suggest keeping your coffee in an airtight container, in a cool, dry cupboard. Our bags all have a de-gassing valve, to let out CO2 that the beans produce once roasted, it’s not just there to sniff the coffee, and a reusable ziplock. So if you don’t have a fancy coffee jar just push the air out the bag, zip the lock and give the bag another squeeze to get any remaining air out.
Do not store your coffee in the fridge. Roasted coffee absorbs moisture from the air (hygroscopic) and will also take up surrounding aromas. The aromas and moisture levels in the fridge will react with the coffee and delicate flavours will deteriorate.
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