Many people would associate Papua New Guinea’s coffees with those from Indonesia, but it would be unfair to do so. Papua New Guinea rightly stands apart and the eastern half of New Guinea shares relatively little with neighbouring Papua when it comes to coffee.
The history of coffee production on the island is not long. While coffee was planted relatively early, in the 1890s, it was not treated as a commercial product at first. In 1926, however, 18 estates were established using seeds from Jamaica’s Blue Mountain, and by 1928 coffee production had begun in earnest.
The industry began a more structured growth in the 1950s, with the creation of infrastructure to help facilitate the movement of coffee around the island. Further growth followed in the 1970s, perhaps spurred on by Brazil’s drop back in production. The government sponsored a series of programmes to encourage small farms to be run by cooperatives. At that time the industry was more focused around managed estates, but since the 1980s the industry has begun to change and decentralize. This is probably due to the drop in coffee prices, which has left many estates in financial trouble. Smallholders aren’t at such risk from market forces and so have been able to continue to produce coffee.
Today 95 per cent of producers are smallholders, often subsistence farmers. They produce around 90 per cent of the country’s coffee, which is almost entirely Arabica. This means a very large proportion of the population is involved in the production of coffee, especially in the highland regions. This has certainly presented challenges when it comes to producing large quantities of high-quality coffee, as many producers lack access to proper post-harvest facilities, and a lack of traceability in the product prevents clear rewards for higher-quality coffee.
Although coffee production in Papua New Guinea only took hold in the 20th century, it is now an established crop. Arabica forms the majority of exports and is mostly grown in highland regions.
TRACEABILITY
Several large estates still operate very successfully, so it is possible to find coffees from a single estate. There is not a long history of traceability, and in the past some farms were acquiring coffee from other producers to pass off as their own. The idea of coffee being sold by region is also relatively new. However, the altitude and soils in the country offer great potential for quality, so there has been renewed interest from the speciality market in the last few years. Look out for coffees traceable to a specific estate or a group of producers.
GRADING
Exports are graded by quality, in descending order: AA, A, X, PSC and Y. The first three are awarded to estate coffees, while the last two are grades for smallholder coffees, PSC standing for Premium Smallholder Coffee.
TASTE PROFILE
Great coffees from Papua New Guinea often have a buttery quality, great sweetness and wonderful complexity.
GROWING REGIONS
Population: 7,060,000
Number of 60kg (132lb) bags in 2016: 1,171,000
Most of Papua New Guinea’s coffee is produced in the Highlands regions, and the area shows great potential for producing some amazing coffees in the future. While some coffee is grown outside of these key regions, it is only a very small amount.
EASTERN HIGHLANDS
There is a single mountain chain that runs through the country, and the Eastern Highlands form part of it.
| Altitude: | 400−1,900m (1,300–6,200ft) |
| Harvest: | April–September |
| Varieties: | Bourbon, Typica, Arusha |
WESTERN HIGHLANDS
This is the other key area of coffee production. Most of the coffee in this region grows around the regional capital of Mount Hagen, named for an old, inactive volcano. Coffee produced in this area is often milled in Goroka, so traceability of some coffees can be difficult. The combination of altitude and incredibly fertile soil makes the potential for quality in this region incredibly exciting.
| Altitude: | 1,000–1,800m (3,300–5,900ft) |
| Harvest: | April–September |
| Varieties: | Bourbon, Typica, Arusha |
SIMBU PROVINCE
Simbu (officially spelled as Chimbu) is the third-largest producing region, but its output is substantially lower than either of the Highlands provinces. The name is derived from the local dialect and the word Sipuuuu, meaning ‘thank you’. Most of the coffee here comes from the coffee gardens around the homes of smallholders. Nearly ninety per cent of the population is engaged in coffee production to some degree, and for many this is the only cash crop they grow.
| Altitude: | 1,300–1,900m (4,300–6,200ft) |
| Harvest: | April–September |
| Varieties: | Bourbon, Typica, Arusha |