Papua New Guinea (PNG) offers a compelling coffee narrative. Situated just north of Australia in the South Pacific, the island’s remote and rugged terrain kept much of its land unexplored by Westerners until the 1930s. With 800 distinct languages spoken among its diverse indigenous groups, PNG is rich in cultural variety.
Coffee cultivation began in PNG in the 1920s, with plants brought from the renowned Jamaica Blue Mountain region. Initially dominated by a few large commercial operations, the coffee industry has evolved to consist of hundreds of small farms, or "gardens," where subsistence farmers grow coffee as a supplementary crop. Despite its ongoing poverty, the growth of the coffee sector holds significant potential for transformative impact.
Challenges such as inadequate infrastructure and political instability make consistent high-quality coffee production difficult. Nevertheless, PNG remains one of our favorite coffee regions for its unique attributes and potential.
