Looking for a unique coffee to try? This bean has it all—low acidity, fruity yet velvety smooth like chocolate, no bitter aftertaste, top-notch quality, and even unique caretakers in an extravagant (or not so extravagant) land. Welcome to Papua New Guinea (commonly referred as “PNG”), home to one of the most sought-after, and our best-selling, bean. Hold up. Where is this place you call “PNG”? To the east of Indonesia and north of Australia, PNG is the eastern part of the New Guinea island. It is a land primarily inhabited by indigenous tribes who live in small ancestral areas amidst the magnificent mountains and caressing foothills and valleys.
Most of us cannot begin to imagine just how isolated and “old-school” these people are. Still following ancient customs, most inhabitants remain on their ancestral land, with no or few reasons to leave their established tribal area. Other than a few modern and well-kept roads in their major city, all other roads are passable only by foot or heavy-duty trucks—not to mention that an unmarked dead-end could be just around the corner. Many villages do not have any roads leading to them, leaving this culture very untouched and mysterious. The literacy rate is also only slightly above 50%, compared to America’s nearly 90%. PNG is approximately the size of California but has less than a fourth of California’s population, which leaves plenty of wide, open spaces. That being said, their land—spared from being devoured by industrialization—is rich and diverse and is their main source of livelihood. The coffee plant flourishes here and is the second largest ag export (first being palm oil). Since these are largely rural people (approximately 85% of the inhabitants!), most beans are raised by smallholder farmers, with only a few estate farms left. These beans were not always a part of the tribes’ daily lives, though. Coffee was first introduced to PNG in the late 19th century by German colonists, but more on an experimental basis. It wasn’t until a German planation in the 1930s, know as Blue Mountain Coffee, began developing production and distributing the Arabica beans that coffee really “took root” in PNG. With the dry/wet climate—imagine sun half the year, and rain the other half!—, high altitudes, and lush weather, the terrain was an ideal fit for the seed. Now about one third of the people depend on coffee for their livelihood.
Our beans are specifically from the Western Highlands in the Tambul–Nebilyer District (on the map, right about where the first “a” is in “Papua”). This area has many ideal places for coffee growers, with elevations of 1,200–1,600 meters and nutrient-rich soil. Interestingly, numerous “micro-lots” are created in this area (and throughout the Highlands) due to the great diversity created among the soaring mountains and swooping valleys. A micro-lot is a small acreage that has a unique and ideal growing environment for coffee, in turn leaving high-quality beans with a distinct and difficult-to-replicate taste. However, the farmers do not have it easy here. Since territories are defined by ancient family methods, whose land is whose land is often disputed, making it difficult to say, “This is my coffee plant.” Thus, a battle ensues for the best . . . Hold up. No; literally: THERE’S A HOLD-UP! For farmers taking their beans to the market or mill, the battle of the beans is not yet over. Unfortunately for these villagers, roadside bandits are a real issue. It has actually been estimated that 20% of their coffee production is stolen in highway hold-ups. Who knew the coffee you could be drinking right now may have undergone an outlaw heist?! . . . and that’s not all for unfortunate events: individuals and small groups wander the Highlands, snatching any beans they can find on the plots of authentic farmers or on the few estates that remain. Between these pickers, the bandits, the livelihood farmers, and the large estate owners, beans of all different ripeness come in. How can the taste be so sought after, then, if beans of all stages are being selected? Thankfully for us, the mills spend countless hours picking out the quality beans—and the estates have higher tech control measures in place.
On the professional estates, the beans are wet-washed, stripped of their fruit, soaked for about a day, pressure washed, patiodried, and sorted by size, before a final, unique step is done: locals are hired to closely inspect and toss out any defective beans that remain. This attention to detail is very uncommon in any other country and produces a clean, consistent, and superior coffee. The beans that are not grown on estates are taken to mills and go through a similar process, though using lower forms of technology. Some such mills give out bonus payments to farmers who consistently deliver quality cherries. All of this sums up why PNG coffee is our bestselling. It is sourced from some of the finest beans the world has to offer—with the excellent terrain, climate, soil, and elevation; the diversity of land creating unique flavors; and the meticulous and hand-delivered quality. Our beans are particularly delightful when cold-brewed (brewing at room temperature for about twenty-four hours, and then filtering); add some milk and ice, and you’ll get a smooth, tangy but chocolatey cup to enjoy in the summer heat. Here’s to a brew of unique, delicious, superior beans, grown by mysterious individuals in a world that is fertile and untouched by modern man. Though the natives often go through pain-staking trouble to get the beans and cash in on them—including ‘em hold-ups—PNG’s got it all, from flavor to quality