About Smallholder producers of Papua New Guinea

High in the southeast of the Wahgi Valley under the sheltering slopes of Mt. Ulya (known locally as Mt. Oga), we find the Ulya plantation and wet mill. That is important, because at one time, the land now owned by smallholder farmers once was part of the Ulya plantation, a large coffee estate established during colonial times. Upon gaining independence, the government of PNG handed a large portion of Ulya plantation back to the people. These smallholders are the ones that had been working on the plantation, and they’ve continued to grow high quality coffee, bringing their freshly picked cherries to Ulya mill to be processed.

Ulya plantation, now run by Monpi Coffee Exports Ltd, has increased its milling capacity to accommodate these surrounding growers, and thanks to this central milling and drying facility, quality control is made more possible. An onsite cupping facility enables the separation of day lots as well as special microlots of extremely high quality. Coffee from this area tends to be a distinctive blue-green in color.