About This Coffee
Boka Plantation is located less than 5 kilometers from our in-country partner, Baroida Estate. Cherries from Boka are delivered to Baroida’s wet mill, where they benefit from Baroida’s expertise and precise processing methods.
Baroida Estate lies in the Kainantu District of the Eastern Highlands Province. The estate was established by Ben Colbran in the 1960s, during a period when the government encouraged foreign agriculturalists to cultivate land throughout the highlands. Boka Plantation sits at the apex of the Lamari River Valley and the Mount Jabarra range, at an elevation of approximately 1,691 meters above sea level. It is surrounded by thousands of hectares of cleared land, once home to colonial coffee estates (now managed by local landowners), and bordered by mountains where smallholder farmers cultivate nearly a million coffee trees.
Cultivation
Coffee production in the Eastern Highlands is primarily carried out by smallholders, each managing an average of 1.22 hectares. Coffee is grown under shade trees without the use of chemical fertilizers, relying instead on natural nutrients from decomposed leaves, vegetable peels, and other organic matter. Most farmers intercrop coffee with banana and taro. The soil varies from sloped to waterlogged areas, and farmers implement drainage systems when necessary to maintain optimal soil conditions for coffee trees to thrive.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Strict separation for quality control ensures the high standards for which Baroida is renowned. At the wet mill, lots from Baroida’s own farms, Boka Plantation, and local smallholders are kept separate to maintain full traceability.
After careful sorting, cherries are pulped using disk pulpers, then dry-fermented in vats for approximately 36 hours. Water is later introduced in a circular motion to naturally agitate the coffee and remove any remaining mucilage. The coffee is then sun-dried on tarps, turned regularly to ensure even drying.
We source only the finest lots, which are separated and allocated specifically for us before being hulled, graded, and prepared for export.
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.