#00TLi Timor-Leste
Origin - Timor-Leste
Producer - Cristo Liurai Cooperative (15 farmers), Letefoho
Lead Farmer - Luis Santos de Jesus
Altitude - 1500-1600 masl
Varietal - Typica, Timor Hybrid
Process - Fully Washed, African bed drying
Tasting notes - Pear, apple, jasmine
Situated in South-East Asia, approximately 1,000 miles east of Bali, lies the tropical island of Timor-Leste. With its lush green mountains and crystal-clear blue waters, this may look like an idyllic paradise, but the reality is that this small country holds a troubled and complicated history. 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 for a second time in 2002, Timor-Leste is now the world’s second youngest nation state and trying hard to find its voice in the geo-political world of the 21st century after centuries of subjugation.
Coffee was first introduced to the island by the Portuguese and by the 1900’s was the country’s leading export, 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, in addition to replenishing and rehabilitating their coffee forests which were so overlooked during the struggle for independence during the latter part of the twentieth century.
One of the most special features about East-Timorese coffee is that it is all organically grown underneath the imposing Ai-Kakeu (Casuarina) and Ai-Samtuku (Albizia) shade trees that dominate the mountainous coffee growing regions. Only natural fertiliser is used (consisting of chicken manure, cherry skin and soil) to nourish the soil. Due to the country’s lack of development and strong animist beliefs, chemical fertilisers have yet to be introduced into agricultural practices.
Cristo Liurai is located in the western part of Letefoho, with all the members being based around the southern perimeter of the mountain protected by the watchful gaze of the Cristo Liurai statue. Led by Luis Santos de Jesus (a school teacher by day), each of these 15 smallholder farmers have a great respect for their coffee and the land on which it is grown. Harvesting coffee from this area is not easy due to the steep terrain and dense forests, and members need to make the daily hike up the mountain to harvest their cherries, and at the end of the day will then carry their harvest back down the mountain, often balancing sacks of up to 30kg on their shoulders.
This is a very organised group, due to Luis’s oversight, who has worked tirelessly to encourage strict record keeping within the community of drying times and changes in moisture content.
KARST ORGANICS - 2023 has also seen us build our first seedling nursery in Eratoi, where together with Simao our field manager and lead farmer of the Eratoi group, we will be looking to cultivate new coffee and shade tree seedlings. For every 10kg of green beans that we sell to our partner roasters, we will commit to planting one new coffee or shade tree seedling which will be distributed to our partner farmers (including members from Cristo Liurai) for planting at a later date, so a big thank you to you for helping us to achieve this goal.