living A dangerous quest for perfect coffee
GOURMET ADVENTURE
Spread-eagled with a gun to his head, Carmichael convinced the Mexican gunmen he was after coffee, not cocaine.
From the source ... PNG coffee workers with the much-vaunted bean that Todd Carmichael ranks as among the world’s best.
Carmichael convinced the Mexican gunmen he was after coffee, not cocaine. Satisfied, one farmer lent his pistol to the shaken American as a sign of goodwill, and encouraged him to fire off a few rounds at some imaginary narcos. The 52-year-old entrepreneur is not that surprised by such incidents as he decided, early on, he wanted “a big life”. Carmichael ran his first ultra-marathon at the age of 20 and soon afterwards sailed solo across the Atlantic. In 2008, he set the world-record for the fastest unsupported trek on foot across the Antarctic to the South Pole. Happily, Carmichael’s 2012 visit to PNG was friendlier than some of his other expeditions, despite some gnarly roads east of Goroka and the usual apprehension about flying over mountains in bush aircraft. His search for a reliable source of Blue Mountain beans ended in Iloko village, Morobe Province. “The village elders told me they had never seen anyone of my type before, let alone sold direct to one,” says Carmichael. “They have the right combination of altitude,
76 Paradise – Air Niugini’s in-flight magazine
rich volcanic soils and a community of people you can work with year after year. The village also has a coffee pulper, which is important when you need to remove the seeds from the plant within four hours of picking. “But it all boils down to how good the bean tastes.” And for the ultimate test, the whole village gathered around a campfire to watch Carmichael get down on the ground to grind, brew and taste their product, to see if it matched his expectations. “You did it for me!” he proclaimed to loud cheers, after the first sip and signed up the area’s association of farmers to an export deal. “They’re so proud of what they’re doing,” he says. Carmichael ranks Iloko’s coffee, with its notes of grapes and cedar, among the world’s “top five or even two”. La Colombe now markets the region’s Blue Mountain variety under the Kunjin label. However, he reminds fellow coffee lovers that enjoyment is a matter of personal taste and no single flavour excites everyone. “There’s no
one-size-fits-all in the culinary world, or in coffee,” he says. “That’s what makes it such a wonderful thing to work with.” Similarly, you don’t have to face down guns, plunge off cliffs or trek the PNG highlands with a portable espresso-maker to get a great cup of coffee. Carmichael says you can ‘geek out’ safely and simply at home with just a French Press. Grind your favourite beans slightly coarser than table salt, pour them in the press and add hot water, using the ‘Golden Ratio’ of one gram of coffee to 17 grams of water. Wait four minutes, press the plunger slowly and serve immediately. You don’t have to stir the mixture before plunging, he advises. “Coffee knows how to brew itself.” Having dealt with gourmets and celebrity chefs around the world, does he agree with the purists who believe it’s sacrilege to add milk and sugar to specialty coffee? “No,” says Carmichael. “Because there’s nothing religious about coffee.” In his case, I’m not so sure.