Kunjin / Papua New Guinea

Kunjin has been a welcome exception for us. Asian-Pacific coffees have historically been processed in far-less-than-ideal means, which usually leads to unbalanced cups lacking clarity. Papua New Guinea’s Western Highlands are not immune to these challenges. There are over 800 distinct languages spoken by the country’s immense diversity of indigenous tribes, many of which had no interaction with the western world until the 1930’s. Still today, the majority of the nation’s coffee production is done by smallholder farmers, each owning anywhere from just a couple to a couple hundred trees. These small scale operations then sell to mills, which still operate in much the same way as when they were founded as commodity plantations in the 1920’s. 

Kunjin is able to improve quality by purchasing cherry from select farmers in the Waghi Valley. They lease a mill on one of the original 15 plantations. At this mill they maintain complete control through milling. Days lots are cupped and micro lot level selections are isolated for separate processing.

Kunjin covers a range of sweet fruit flavors with complex herbal and spice tones dancing in between. The cup starts off with notes of nutmeg spiced blueberry pie, with fresh herbal notes of sweet sage and lemongrass. This coffee has a soft, effervescent tone that reminds us of gin & tonics or lemon lime soda. It is the perfect coffee for pairing with a wide range of buttery pastries, whether sweet or savory. 

Purchase Kunjin / Papua New Guinea Here