Coffee from the South Pacific

Hello Smokin Gun coffee drinkers.  If you’re a fan of one of our favorite coffees, Texas Blend, then you might be a fan of travel and exotic places.  How’s that you say?  Well, with our Texas Blend the one ingredient that gives it that flavor you love in the morning (or any time of the day for me ) is from a small island way off  in the Pacific Ocean, Papua New Guinea. (PNG). 

Now you might think of head hunters and wild tribesmen if you’ve read any tales of the South Pacific as a kid.  However, some of the best coffee in the world is grown “down there.”  Serious coffee growing started in the 1920’s on large estates with the Blue Mountain variety from Jamaica.  Now those plantation estates have been  broken into blocks and given back to landowners. The tribal lands are continuously subdivided with each generation, and fathers pass ownership to their children. 

Which is why over 80% of PNG’s coffee comes from smallholder farmers. Papua New Guinea’s mountainous terrain with amazingly fertile volcanic soil is excellent for growing rich, vibrant Arabica coffee, but not very good for transporting it. As a result, many remote villages and smallholder coffee farms are only reachable by foot or light aircraft.  Which is why air travel is crucial to get things moving.

We purchase coffee grown in the Simbai region of the Eastern Highlands of PNG. Coffee trees are  grown at 4000 to 5000 feet above sea level and  harvested from April through August.  It’s transported by foot down the mountains and is then airlifted in planes like you see above.  The rich soil of  the Simbai region lends itself to coffee with dark sweet flavors that remind you of  dark chocolate and tropical fruit flavor ending with a a full-bodied coffee that we love to drink. 

So next time you’re sipping on some Texas Blend, put a splash of Kahlua in your cup and dream of nice breezes and island air.

Thanks for reading.