ACTL (Associação Café Timor-Leste) is a non-profit, voluntary membership association founded in 2016 to represent and strengthen the entire coffee value chain in Timor-Leste. It brings together baristas, roasters, traders, exporters, and farmers under a shared mission to grow the industry and connect East Timor coffee with global specialty markets.
Mission and Vision
ACTL’s vision is to work collectively across the East Timor coffee industry to increase production volume and improve the value of coffee — for growers, processors, and the national economy alike.
Membership
The association represents every stage of the coffee value chain:
| Member Type | Role |
|---|---|
| Farmers | Coffee growers and producers |
| Roasters | Coffee roasting specialists |
| Baristas | Coffee preparation professionals |
| Traders | Commerce and trading professionals |
| Exporters | International coffee export businesses |
Key Objectives
- Strengthen relationships with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
- Develop new channels to specialty coffee markets globally
- Build competitive coffee and coffee professional brands for Timor-Leste
- Optimise coffee production value and quality standards
- Promote Timor-Leste coffee internationally
- Support coffee tourism development
Coffee Industry Background
Coffee was introduced to East Timor in the 1860s and today accounts for approximately 80% of the country’s exports. Around one third of Timorese households depend on coffee farming for their livelihoods, making it central to rural life and the national economy.
Timor-Leste is also home to the distinctive Timor Hybrid — a naturally occurring cross between Arabica and Robusta varieties, valued worldwide for its disease resistance and used extensively in global breeding programmes.
Industry Achievements
By 2019, ACTL had presented 40 different specialty-grade coffee samples, with the highest-scoring coffee achieving over 86 points — firmly in specialty territory. These results reflect the association’s sustained work on quality improvement and market access across the value chain.
Services and Activities
- Industry advocacy and representation
- Quality improvement and professional training
- Market development and international promotion
- Export facilitation and support
- Coffee tourism promotion
- Stakeholder coordination across the value chain
Coffee Tourism
ACTL actively integrates coffee into Timor-Leste’s tourism offer:
- Farm visits — guided experiences at coffee-growing estates
- Coffee tours — end-to-end journeys from cherry to cup
- Cultural tourism — coffee culture as part of Timorese heritage
- Educational tourism — learning about processing, grading, and export
Contact
Phone: +670 78125667