About This Coffee
JUnen Choit Cooperative was founded in 2009 in Morobe Province in Papua New Guinea. Today, Unen Choit has over 2,000 members across three districts and five local level governments (LLGs).
Farmers cultivate small plots of land at 760+ meters above sea level in the Morobe Province. They typically grow Arusha, Typica, Bourbon and Catimor varieties.
Their members are Organic and Fairtrade certified and they also source FTO coffees from certified growers and grower groups in Morobe.
Cultivation
Members receive training on a variety of subjects including financial inclusion, gender equality, sustainable environmental management, child rights protection and more.
Unen Choit has been so successful with their training program that they have been invited to participate in several international forums about sustainability development in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Smallholders selectively pick ripe, red cherry and process it on their farms. Exact processing methods may vary from farm to farm but farmers have received quality-oriented processing training from Unen Choit and typically operate using the following methods. Once picked, cherry is pulped, either on a manual drum pulper or an ecopulper. Pulped coffee is fermented and then washed in clean water. Parchment is laid on raised beds or clean patios to dry. Producers rake parchment frequently to ensure even drying. It typically takes 3 to 5 days for parchment to dry at these altitudes.
Coffee in Papua New Guinea
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.