Welcome to For the Love of Coffee, a blog exclusively for the employees of Vienna Coffee!
The island nation of Papua New Guinea, located in the Southwest Pacific between Indonesia and Australia is an incredibly diverse and beautiful place. It encompasses the eastern half of the island of New Guinea which is the second largest in the world. Historic records indicate that humans first began settling on the island some 50-60,000 years ago. Known for its pristine coral reefs and beaches, and inland volcanoes, Papua New Guinea is certainly a region perfect for growing some of the world’s finest coffee!
Papua New Guinea is home to an estimated 9 million people and has hundreds of diverse cultures. There are more than 800 distinct languages spoken there, more than anywhere else per capita in the world!
Hundreds of distinct cultural traditions can be found on the tropical island paradise of Papua New Guinea
When coffee first arrived on the island beans from Jamaican Blue Mountain were planted. There are claims that the Germans were the first to bring coffee to the island sometime in the late 19th century, but there are also claims that it was British settlers that brought the bean around the same time period. Regardless of who started growing coffee on the island, the first official documentation of coffee being grown there commercially wasn’t until the 1920s. Fast-forward 100 years and Papua New Guinea is currently the 17th largest coffee-producing nation with almost all of the coffee being produced on small farms. Coffee is the second-largest export of the island nation next to Palm Oil. In Papua New Guinea there are approximately 2.5 million people (around 30% of the population!) employed in the coffee industry, the majority working on the approximately 280,000 smaller farms. 90% of the coffee production on the island is done in the 5 Highlands Provinces of Western Highlands, Eastern Highlands, Simbu, Morobe, and East Sepik.
Our current crop of Organic Papua New Guinea comes from The Timuza Coffee Cooperative which represents over 200 smallholder farmers of the Kamano tribal group. The average farm size is 1.4 hectares (about 3.5 acres) per family, with adjacent gardens for the cultivation of food crops such as sweet potato, taro, and cassava. Farmers have received training and assistance in financial management, gender equality, coffee husbandry, and standards for processing through local partners. The harvest takes place from April through September, with selective harvest of ripe cherry, manual pulping, washing, and full sun-drying. In 2016, Timuza placed 1st in the National Cupping Competition.
(above) The welcoming committee of the Timuza/Namura Coffee Cooperative
Our Organic Papua New Guinea Coffee is roasted to Medium and shines with a creamy body, subtle notes of cocoa, brown sugar, pecans, and a rich, chocolatey finish. We are proud to offer this excellent award-winning organic coffee to our customers and all Baristas will soon be receiving a 4oz sample bag to take home and enjoy.
Thank you to each and every one of you who makes Vienna Coffee such a special place to work, and for our customers to visit. Each one of you personally and actively contributes to the quality, culture, and continued success of our business and brand. You are appreciated and celebrated!
It’s a GREAT day for coffee!
Yours Truly Caffeinated,
Matt
