Coffee cultivation did not succeed until 1930, when seeds of the Jamaican coffee specialty Blue Mountain were smuggled into the country. This developed into one of the most important economic sectors for the island nation. The growing areas, some of which have very different landscapes and climates, provide a great variety of flavors. Coffee is mostly grown on small plantations with less than 60 trees, located in the western and eastern highlands (1,300-1,800 meters above sea level). Often the farms are family farms and are managed entirely by hand. In total, two to three million people in Papua New Guinea live from coffee cultivation.
Most of the coffee grown is Arabica, especially the Mundo Novo, Caturra and Bourbon varieties.
In terms of taste, Papua New Guinea coffee is very similar to its relative, Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee. Some connoisseurs find the beans from the island nation even more flavorful, which may be due to the even better climatic conditions on Papua New Guinea.
Overall, the beans are characterized by an incomparable, intensely spicy character with rather unusual smoky, earthy notes.
