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Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea grows washed arabica in its central highlands, much of it from Jamaican Blue Mountain seed: sweet and tropical, cleaner than Indonesian coffee.

Papua New Guinea’s coffee grows in the central highlands — principally the Eastern Highlands, Western Highlands and Simbu provinces.

The Blue Mountain connection

Much of PNG’s arabica descends from Jamaican Blue Mountain seed imported in the 1920s. That Typica lineage is part of why the coffee is clean and sweet.

The profile

Sweet and tropical: pineapple, citrus, brown sugar, with a full body and moderate acidity. Cleaner than Indonesian coffee despite the geographical proximity, because processing here is mostly washed.

Garden coffee

The overwhelming majority comes from smallholders — often a few hundred trees beside a subsistence garden — who pulp and ferment at home before selling to a mill. Traceability is difficult and quality varies.

Estate and co-operative lots with proper processing are considerably more consistent.

The logistics problem

PNG’s highlands are remote and the roads are poor. Coffee reaching an export port has usually had a difficult journey, and availability in the US is intermittent.

Brewing it

Filter or immersion at medium roast. Its sweetness and body make it forgiving, and estate lots suit a V60 well.

What you need to make it

The equipment this actually requires — not a shopping list, the shortest route to doing it properly.