Origin: Papua New Guinea
Region: Eastern Highlands
Subregions: Daulo, Goroka & Ungai Bena
Producers: Approx. 1,500 Smallholder Farmers
Wet Mill: Outspan 4 Mile, Goroka
Crop: 2025/26
Species: Arabica
Varieties: Typica & Mundo Novo
Altitude: 1,200–1,500 MASL
Process: Fully Washed
Fermentation: Approx. 12 Hours
Drying: Approx. 7 Days Patio Drying, Mechanically Finished
Grade: A
Screen: 15+
Tasting Notes: Juicy Berries, Elderflower, Vanilla & Rose
Bag: 60kg GrainPro / Ecotact
Lot: P8003072-1
This coffee comes from the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea, a mountainous region where coffee is grown by smallholder farmers across steep valleys and cooler highland slopes.
Produced from coffee grown in the Daulo, Goroka and Ungai Bena districts, this lot brings together the work of around 1,500 smallholder farmers. Their ripe cherries are delivered to the Outspan 4 Mile wet mill in Goroka, where the coffee is centrally processed to create a clean, floral and fruit-forward washed profile.
Coffee from Papua New Guinea’s Eastern Highlands
Papua New Guinea has one of the most distinctive coffee-growing landscapes in the world.
Much of the country’s Arabica production comes from remote highland communities where coffee is grown on small family plots rather than large commercial estates.
The Eastern Highlands are particularly important to the country’s coffee industry. High elevations, fertile soils, regular rainfall and cooler temperatures provide excellent conditions for Arabica, allowing cherries to ripen more slowly and develop greater sweetness and complexity.
The farms contributing to this lot sit at approximately 1,200–1,500 metres above sea level.
At these elevations, cooler nights help slow the maturation of the coffee cherries, encouraging denser beans and more developed acidity before harvest.
Smallholder Produced
This is not a single-estate coffee.
Instead, it represents the combined work of around 1,500 smallholder farmers, many of whom cultivate coffee on very small family farms.
Typical farms in this part of Papua New Guinea can be as small as around half a hectare, with coffee grown alongside food crops, fruit trees and other vegetation.
Coffee provides an important source of household income across these highland communities, and the smallholder model is central to the country’s coffee industry.
Rather than processing coffee independently on each farm, growers deliver their ripe cherries to a central wet mill.
This allows a much greater degree of control over quality, sorting, fermentation and drying.
The Outspan 4 Mile Wet Mill
The coffee is processed at the Outspan 4 Mile wet mill in Goroka.
Centralised processing plays an important role in maintaining consistency across a lot produced by many different farmers.
When coffee cherries arrive at the mill, they are checked for ripeness and quality before moving into the main processing stages.
This allows cherries from many small producers to be handled using the same standards and equipment, creating a more uniform finished coffee.
Typica & Mundo Novo
The coffee is produced from Typica and Mundo Novo Arabica varieties.
Typica is one of the oldest and most historically important Arabica varieties. It is valued for its clean cup profile, elegant acidity and potential for sweetness when grown at higher elevations.
Mundo Novo is a naturally occurring hybrid known for combining good cup quality with productivity and resilience.
Together, these varieties contribute to the balance of fruit, florals, sweetness and structure found in this coffee.
Fully Washed Processing
This coffee is processed using the fully washed method, which helps create the clean and defined profile associated with the lot.
After harvesting, the ripe coffee cherries are depulped to remove the outer fruit.
The coffee is then placed in water, where lower-density beans and unwanted material can be separated through flotation.
The parchment coffee is left to ferment for approximately 12 hours, allowing the remaining mucilage to break down naturally.
Once fermentation is complete, the coffee is thoroughly washed with clean water to remove any remaining fruit material.
This process helps emphasise clarity, acidity and origin character rather than the heavier fruit influence typically associated with natural processing.
Patio & Mechanical Drying
After washing, the parchment coffee is spread out and dried on patios.
The coffee is carefully monitored and turned regularly during drying to help moisture escape evenly.
Initial patio drying takes approximately seven days, after which the coffee is finished using mechanical dryers to ensure a stable and consistent final moisture level.
This combination of sun and mechanical drying allows the producers to benefit from slower natural drying while still maintaining control in Papua New Guinea’s unpredictable highland climate.
High-Altitude Arabica
The farms contributing to this lot are located at around 1,200–1,500 MASL.
These cooler highland conditions slow the development of the coffee cherries, allowing sugars and flavour compounds more time to develop.
This slower maturation contributes to the lively acidity, floral aromatics and fruit sweetness found in the finished cup.
For roasters, these higher-altitude beans can provide excellent structure and respond particularly well to lighter and medium roast profiles.
Grade A – Screen 15+
This coffee is prepared to Papua New Guinea Grade A and sorted to screen 15+.
The grading system takes into account the physical preparation and quality of the coffee, helping ensure a consistent green coffee for roasting.
The screen 15+ preparation means the beans have also been sorted to a relatively uniform size, helping improve roast consistency.
A Bright, Floral Cup
This coffee offers a noticeably different profile from many of the chocolate-heavy or nut-led coffees commonly associated with lower-acidity origins.
Expect notes of:
Juicy Berries • Elderflower • Vanilla • Rose
The juicy berry character provides a vibrant fruit sweetness, while elderflower and rose give the cup a delicate floral quality.
A softer vanilla note brings balance and roundness, creating a cup that is both expressive and approachable.
The result is a coffee that feels bright and aromatic without becoming overly sharp or intensely fermented.
For Roasters
This coffee is especially well suited to light-to-medium and medium roast profiles.
A lighter roast will preserve more of the berry, elderflower and rose character, making it particularly interesting for filter brewing.
A medium roast will increase sweetness and body while still retaining enough acidity and floral character to keep the cup lively.
For espresso, a carefully developed medium roast can produce a balanced shot with fruit sweetness, floral aromatics and a smooth vanilla-like finish.
It also makes an excellent single-origin option for roasters looking to add a more floral and fruit-driven coffee to their range without relying on experimental processing techniques.
An Important Smallholder Origin
Papua New Guinea’s coffee industry is built largely around smallholder farming.
For many families in the highlands, coffee remains one of the most important sources of cash income.
This means lots such as Okapa are not simply regional blends; they represent the combined work of hundreds or thousands of individual farming households.
Centralised wet milling allows these producers to access higher levels of quality control and helps create exportable specialty lots with better consistency and traceability.
A Distinctive Papua New Guinea Washed Coffee
Papua New Guinea Okapa Washed offers a very different expression of highland coffee.
Its combination of smallholder production, high-altitude Typica and Mundo Novo, fully washed processing and careful drying creates a coffee with remarkable clarity and aromatic character.
Rather than leaning heavily towards chocolate and nuts, this lot is defined by juicy berries, delicate florals, vanilla sweetness and a clean finish.
For customers looking to explore a less familiar specialty origin, this is an excellent introduction to the quality and diversity found in Papua New Guinea’s Eastern Highlands.
Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a relative newcomer to the specialty coffee scene. The remote locations of the nation’s smallholders—who produce 85% of total coffee in the country—combined with historically-poor infrastructure has made the transition to specialty difficult. Nonetheless, the country is working towards innovative solutions that will hopefully lead to better quality coffee and improved livelihoods for the nation’s smallholder coffee producers.
