BAROIDA ESTATE

ORIGIN : Baroida, Aiyura, Kianantu, Papua New Guinea
ALTITUDE : 1700 - 1850 m
VARIETAL : Arusha, Bourbon, Mundo Novo, Typica
PROCESSING : Washed
ROAST : Medium
TASTING NOTES : Apple, Lemon Zest, Caramel, Baking Spice

Papua New Guinea 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-deficient 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.

Baroida Estate is located in the Kainantu District, Eastern Highlands Province. The name ‘Baroida’ comes from the Baroida spirit, believed by locals to reside in a large river rock sitting in one of the main rivers flowing through the estate. This particular rock has stubbornly remained in the middle of the river for as long as anybody can remember, refusing to budge through the most severe floods, even when other rocks have been washed away. 

The Baroida plantation sits at the apex of the Lamari river valley and Mount Jabarra range. The plantation itself sits at about 1,700 to 1,850 meters above sea level amongst thousands of hectares of cleared land with former colonial coffee estates surrounding them (now run by native landowners) and flanked by mountains filled with smallholder coffee producers who cultivate close to a million trees.  

Meticulous separation for quality control helps maintain the high quality of the estate’s coffee. After careful sorting, cherry is pulped on disc pulpers. Then, it dry-ferments in vats for approximately 36 hours. Following fermentation, water is pumped into the vats in a circular motion to naturally agitate the coffee and remove any remaining mucilage. Coffee is sundried on tarps, where it is turned regularly to ensure even drying.