Kulkul
Cacao
Approved Partner
Only accessible by sea from Madang, the province’s capital, the island of Karkar is a stunning, volcanic territory with a long tradition in fine cacao production.
Sensory profile
With fresh fruit notes, mild acidity and smoky hints, these beans’ rich flavour displays the unique characteristics of cacao from Papua New Guinea.
We follow Cocoa of Excellence’s flavour guidelines. A description of the terminologies used can be found below.
Cocoa: Typical flavour of well-fermented, roasted cacao beans.
Acidity: Perception of acidity that can be found in citric or other fruit acids.
Bitterness: Typically perceived in caffeine, coffee, kola nut, some beers and grapefruits.
Astringency: Perception of astringency that can be perceived as a velvety sensation on the sides of mouth and tongue. Typical of tannins in some wines or beers. Can also be perceived between tongue and palate and/or at the back of the front teeth and inside lips and gums. Typical of raw nut skins and green banana skins.
Sweet: The characteristic sweet flavour that can be found in white sugar, browned sugar, panela, honey and caramel.
Fresh Fruit: A catch-all term to capture the flavour that can be found in citrus, tropical and stone fruits such as strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, acai, lemon, pineapple, mango, apricot and banana.
Browned Fruit: Typical of dried fruit such as dried apricot, banana, yellow raisin and fig. Covers brown and dark fruits such as prunes, dates, plums and dark cherry.
Nutty: Typical of hazelnut, macadamia, pecan, walnut, cashew, almond and brazil nut.
Floral: The floral flavour attributes typical of freshly cut grass, young green leaves, herbs like thyme and rosemary, jasmine, honeysuckle, rose, lilac, lilies etc.
Woody: Typically associated with the aromatic properties of freshly cut wood, both light woods such as ash, beach and maple and dark woods such as oak, walnut and teak.
Spice: Typical of nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, liquorice, tonka, vanilla, black pepper and dried tobacco.
Smoky: The flavour associated with a smoky aroma such as those given off when burning charcoal and wood chip.
The Provenance
Located off the north-east coast of Papua New Guinea, Karkar’s fertile ground is exceptionally productive, and Kulkul Cocoa Plantation is nestled into the slopes of the volcano itself high above the black sand beaches.
The main crops cultivated on Karkar are coconuts and cacao. Farmers plant them together so the palms give shade to the smaller cacao trees below them.
Using traditional methods, beans are dried in small kilns using heat from wood fires. This cacao is full bodied and intensely flavoured.
The Farmers
Type – Jute Bags
Net Weight – 69.5 kg
Gross Weight – 63.5 kg