Coffee Cherry at Monpi weigh station. Possibly even Kinmuga Peaberry.
Workers at Sigri Estate Dry Mill where size, color and density sorting result in very consistent coffees of various grades.
At Vienna Coffee we have been using an increasing amount of coffees from Papua New Guinea. This year we decided to make the trip to see what is happening on the ground. We traveled with our importing partners Benchmark Coffee Traders, who have been working in this area for over a decade. In addition to sourcing delicious coffees, Benchmark seeks to also find community development projects that seek to give back to these coffee producing communities in various ways like education and access to health care.
Our coffee travels began in the Western Highlands near Mt. Hagen where we got a first hand view of how coffee is grown and processed in the Waghi Vallety. Sitting at 1600 meters in elevation the rich volcanic soil is perfect for growing coffees for our Thunderhead Espresso. The farm is known as Sigri Estate where we have been working to bring incredibly sweet and balanced coffees to our popular espresso blend.
From the western Highlands we then traveled via land rovers to the Eastern Highlands region. In the east we stayed in the city of Goroka. While there we had the privilege of cupping our Kinmuga Peaberry smaller lots of coffees from several producers. Tasting these coffees before they leave the country allow much better control of the lots we are purchasing.
We found first hand that PNG has much more potential to offer than we ever knew. Historically, coffees in PNG have always been known for quality, but never anything that stands out with incredibly transparent flavors and electric acidity, but my mind is changed. These types of amazing coffees do in fact exist, but the challenge is in transportation and leadership. I’m hopeful that we will be able to find solutions to these challenges and work toward more exciting coffees from this very wild place.
Ryan from Vienna and Vikram from Benchmark cupping this year’s fresh crop Kinmuga PB along with other exciting micro lots from very small producers throughout Papua New Guinea.
Making the trip this year has allowed us to ensure stronger relationships and put our name on the coffees that interest us and our customers the most. We are going to be very excited for several new coffees and new relationships coming out of PNG in the near future. Cheers.
Mill in Eastern Highlands.
AT VIENNA COFFEE COMPANY…
Our dedication to ensuring that we are a market leader in craft coffee throughout the southeast dictates that we apply the same critical scrutiny used for our complete coffee lineup to any product we offer.
This commitment demonstrates our continued pursuit to provide craft coffee that enriches the lives of customers and producers alike by providing an experience grounded in excellence and hospitality. We custom pick our green coffee beans from regions across The Coffee Belt and always seek responsible sourcing from seed to cup.
Our roasting team ensures each bean varietal is roasted according to its characteristics to enhance its peak flavors. Vienna Coffee Company goes further by evaluating each varietal harvest through coffee cuppings to evaluate and adjust its roasting profile.
Explore our complete line of coffees online or stop by the Coffee House and let our baristas do the brewing for you. We hope that exploring what we offer (whether its organic, single-origin, a VCC custom blend or your favorite flavored coffee) continues your journey in discovering that “Great Coffee is an Adventure”.