Papua New Guinea Lahamenegu Eastern Highlands Organic A 2023

Papua New Guinea Organic Coffee

Genuine Origin’s sister company, Volcafe PNG, owns and operates the largest dry mill in Papua New Guinea. The Lahamenegu Mill is located in the Eastern Highlands and serves as an essential link between Genuine Origin and local producers.

This coffee was sourced from three provinces – Simbu, Eastern Highlands, and Morobe. Around 10% of PNG’s coffee is produced in Simbu, and 330 smallholders are part of the Volcafe PNG network here. In the Eastern Highlands, coffee is sourced from 300 partner producers in the Henganofi sub-region. The Morobe province is an up-and-coming region in PNG with a fast-growing reputation for high quality and volume. Over 500 farmers are part of the network here and primarily produce washed coffees with clean cup quality.

Typica and Bourbon Green Coffee

Typica and Bourbon are the two most common arabica coffee varietals and are often the parent plants from which subsequent varietals are based. Their lineage can be traced back to when coffee was first taken from Ethiopia to Yemen. Typica was most likely brought to Indonesia by Dutch traders, who also disseminated the plant further around the world. Bourbon, on the other hand, can be traced back to France’s Bourbon Island (now La Réunion), where it spread to Africa via French missionaries.

Quality Papua New Guinea Green Coffee

In 2021, the National Institute of Standards and Industrial Technology (NISIT) revamped the grading protocol for coffee from PNG that streamlines the process. Green coffees from PNG with an A grade green should have a balanced, uniform, clean cup with a distinct body, acidity, and aroma.

Washed Process Green Coffee

In the “washed” or “wet” process coffee cherries are floated and sorted to ensure consistent ripeness and to remove any defective cherries. The seeds (coffee beans) are then removed from their skins using depulping machines and typically moved to fermentation tanks to remove the mucilage—the remaining fruit remnants. Afterward, the coffee is dried until it reaches the optimal moisture level.

Washed processing has become widely popular. The cup profile of washed coffees tends to reflect the terroir of the coffee. The processing method allows the growing conditions, the region, and the true character of the coffee to shine through.

Organic Unroasted Coffee Beans

Many coffee origins grow coffee organically by default, but for coffee to be certified as USDA Organic, the farm and supply chain must adhere to strict standards from tree to cup. The standards encompass criteria such as the health of the soil, management of pests and weeds, the genetics of the coffee trees, environmental impacts that result from agricultural activity, and more. Accreditation is a rigorous process that can take up to three years and is a huge investment for producers. That’s why many who naturally farm organically may still lack certification despite their sustainable efforts.

Green Coffee from Papua New Guinea

Out of the nine million people in PNG, around 2.5 million (30%) are involved in coffee. Exports of coffee account for approximately 6% (US$72 million) of the country’s GDP, and it’s the second leading agricultural product after palm oil. With numbers like that, most people expect unroasted PNG green coffee to be highly valued locally, but production levels tell a different story. Learn more in our Papua New Guinea Green Coffee Origin Report.