Coffee from Papua New Guinea - is it that bad, or is it me?

[DuctapeFatwa]

did I just get a bad bag?

I had never had it before, saw it, brought it home, ground some up, made it, it tasted like some kind of hellish tea made from stale peanuts!

Didn't taste or smell like coffee at all!

If this is somebody's pet coffee, I don't mean to diss it, and if you are from PNG and tell me that this is just what everybody in PNG likes, well, ok, everywhere has its weirdnesses.

But this stuff was VILE!

[DinahMoeHum]

1. Was it roasted???

It seems to me that from your description, it wasn't roasted just yet.

:think:

[bif]

2. Was it fresh?

For the best coffee around check this site out:
http://www.peets.com/

this is what they had to say about it:

NEW GUINEA


New Guinea is Earth's second-largest
island. It lies just north of Australia and
is divided down the center between the
country of Papua New Guinea (on the
east) and Indonesia's Irian Jaya
province (on the west).

Our New Guinea coffee comes from
Papua New Guinea, where cultivation
started in 1937 with seeds imported
from Jamaica's Blue Mountain region.
It's grown in the rugged valleys of the
central highlands in the area around Mt.
Hagen. Rich volcanic soil and some of
the most ideal climatic conditions
combine to produce a mild and mellow,
yet aromatically complex, coffee that
we consider one of the world's best. Its
completeness—good body, moderate
acidity and broad flavor—suggests
old-style Jamaica Blue Mountain before
the huge expansion of planting there
with the high-yield, less flavorful
varietals.

We enjoy drinking New Guinea coffee
on its own. But we also like to blend
with it to take advantage of its
interesting flavor characteristics and
good body. So even if you've never
bought New Guinea straight, you might
very well have had it in one of our
blends.

[DuctapeFatwa]

3. yeah, it appeared to be roasted, maybe it was just old

but I think it has traumatized me.

If it was supposed to taste like Jamaican Blue, that's ok, I don't like that one that much. I like Cafe du Monde and Turkish WMD grade.

[bif]

4. JamaicanBlue Mountain

Never did much for me. Overrated and over priced, I thought. I also think Kona is overrated too. I like like a more robust coffee. Have you ever had Peets? Its from San Fransisco and in my opinion, is twice as good as Starbucks. We've been getting it mail order for many years now. It's about all we buy.

[Beer Snob-50]

6. Starbucks is massivly overrated!! (NT)

[stimbox]

7. It's all in the roast.

Sounds like you got a light roast. Or maybe you didn't make it strong enough. Follow the directions on the Peet's site. I used to work for them and their coffee is 100x better than McStarbucks:
Better quality beans, a better roast, and a stronger brew.

[DuctapeFatwa]

9. I do NOT do Starbucks. I might try Peet's

I think coffee should be the color of ink and strong enough to slice.

[Must_B_Free]

8. if it had a "paint" smell, then it was rancid

it is conceivable that the oils in a coffee bean could go rancid. Rancid oil is marked by a "paint" smell.

FYI...

From what you described, no coffee would taste that bad without having turned bad.

[DuctapeFatwa]

10. hmm, it smells more like stale nut oil than anything

You have all convinced me that it was just past its freshness date.

I will try not to be prejudiced against PNG coffee as a result of this experience, but if it really is like that Jamaican blue stuff, it is going to be hard!

[mac56]

5. Papua New Guinea is great coffee.

I think you had a bad batch!

[sistersofmercy]

11. If you like CDM coffee then that is why you don't like the Papua

New Guinea stuff. Big, big difference.

[retread]

12. Try Fair Trade coffee. I feel better drinking it.

*

[DuctapeFatwa]

13. Well, of course best of all is "Fair Gift" coffee

furtively brought back by mishcievous pickers from here and there ;)