THE DRUMHELLER limited edition coffee
all the way from Papua New Guinea to your coffee maker!
The DRUMHELLER is a blend of two medium roast beans: a jammy, bold, intense coffee from Papua New Guinea plus a lovely, balanced coffee from Colombia.
Together, this blend make me think of my grandma’s date square - sweet and rich with hints of oats and almonds.
This isn’t the first time we’ve featured a coffee from Papua New Guinea. Every time we have the chance to bring one to you, I take it because I love the taste - and I love the idea that it has come alllllll the way from SE Asia to us, here in Canada.
In the late 1970s, my uncle Greg and his partner Dianne went backpacking. They were gone for about 18 months, travelling all over the world. Australia, Fiji, India, all over Europe… The stories and slides I loved most were from their time in Papua New Guinea.
(Yes slides, not photos. It was a long time ago! Serious photographers took slides and we would gather for slide shows of people’s vacations.)
PNG has an amazing cultural diversity with literally hundreds of tribes of people that were cut off from each other for centuries. As a result, their cultures, languages and beliefs developed independently and are incredibly diverse. Greg and Dianne were fortunate to be there for a gathering of many indigenous groups. I can still picture their photos, projected up on my grandma’s slide projector, of mudmen, tattooed women, tribes of tiny people, dancers dressed only in penis gourds…
Their stories and photos inspired me to backpack through Asia a few years later. Sadly, I never made it to PNG and still think of it as a very remote, very special place that I hope to visit one day.
In the meantime, I can drink its coffee and dream of being at a sing-sing festival in the western highlands, close to where this coffee was grown.
Tyra the Tyrannosaurus Rex
Our DRUMHELLER coffee features a HUGE, ENORMOUS, very cool statue of TYRA, the Tyrannosaurus Rex on its label. Definitely a cool Canadian Roadside Attraction and well worth a stop for more than a photo, if you’re in the area. You’ll probably need a full day to take in the many attractions in & around Drumheller, Alberta.
Even the Smithsonian Magazine agrees that Drumheller is the Dinosaur Capital of the World. Many species of dinosaurs roamed around and dino fossils are abundant in the Alberta Badlands. Drumheller is also home to the excellent Royal Tyrell Dinosaur Museum and is located in the Badlands with its cool Hoodoos.
Tyra towering over the parking lot - she’s 25m tall and 4 1/2 times bigger than a real T-Rex!
Nico & Glen inside Tyra’s mouth, with a great view over the Badlands.
Neko was so little! And so adorable! (Some things don’t change. She’s taller and older and still super cute!)
Tyra may be the World’s Largest Dinosaur, but with those tiny arms, it’s impossible to hold a coffee cup. Poor thing.
How to Brew The Drumheller?
Of course, you can use ANY coffee maker. That said, THE DRUMHELLER is particularly good made with a drip or filter coffee maker.
Now that summer is here, we’re going to cool down with it made as a Vietnamese iced coffee.
And EVERY coffee is great made in an Aeropress.
Let me know YOUR fave way of making and drinking The DRUMHELLER.
The Roadside Attraction Coffee Series
The Roadside Attraction series of seasonal coffees celebrates our love for coffee, for road trips, and for Canada by creating limited edition coffees named for and inspired by Canadian Roadside Attractions.
The names and logos of these coffees are inspired by giant sculptures and other quirky and cool attractions that are found across Canada - like Kenora’s Husky the Muskie.
Every few weeks we bring out a new Roadside Attraction Series coffee. These coffees may be a single-origin (from one country or even part of a small lot from one farm) or a blend of special beans from a couple places.
One thing is for sure, each one is a limited edition. It's only around for a few weeks so try it out while you can!
Enjoy this coffee and dream of your next road trip!
Thank you to our good friends the Bees: Glen, Nat & Neko, for sharing their photos!
Hear about our next seasonal coffee and other coffee news: