Kuta, Waghi Valley, Papua New Guinea, Pound

The Coffee... The most unique characteristic of this coffee is its deep, syrupy, incredibly profound body. This characteristic typifies island coffee from the South Pacific, and it’s one of the things people love about Sumatran, Javan, and Sulawesi coffees. It’s incredibly rare, however, for a coffee with such a deep body to be so clean-tasting as Kuta and also have the subtle cherry-fruit character to accompany the chocolate. It’s this pairing of syrupy body and clean cherry-chocolate flavor that makes coffees from this little part of this giant valley so beloved by coffee drinkers.

Australian Influence... Coffee was introduced by Australians to New Guinea, and they continue to be involved at many stages of the process. Many plantations were established by Australian entrepreneurs, but since New Guinean independence in the '70s many of these have been taken over by Papua New Guinean nationals. Farm size here ranges from the large plantations, like the famous Sigri plantation, to the small 1-2 acre plots managed by individuals and small tribes. The in-betweens are medium-sized farms managed by individuals or by tribes who manage their land collectively. Most often, these farms bring their cherry directly to a coffee mill, whose job it is to pulp, ferment, wash, and mill the cherry for export. Kuta is one of these mills.

The Land... Papua New Guinea is not only a natural treasure, but a cultural one as well. There are 826 languages spoken on this island, each representing an independent culture. The farmers of Papua New Guinea still live very traditional lives, and these ancient tribal cultures still thrive in the mountains and valleys of the highlands. Agriculture was invented independently here, and many farmers now include coffee among the crops they grow beside their straw homes in the mountains.