The Asia Pacific region represents a unique proposition in the world of specialty coffee. Coffees from this part of the world offer some of the most unique flavor profiles available, and the social and economic impacts of responsible coffee production can be hugely impactful to the local communities involved in its cultivation. On the flip side of this coin, these coffees can be considerably more expensive than coffees from other regions offering a similar varietal/flavor profile, and the unique terroir and processing methods driven by the island ecology can be polarizing to different tastes.

Since the inception of Servant Coffee, we’ve only found one lot from this part of the world that met our price, flavor profile, and relationship/impact targets, and it was a true crowd-pleaser. We’ve been on the hunt ever since, and we haven’t come across another lot that met these requirements – until now! This coffee comes from the Sigri Estate, located in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea near Mt. Hagen, and we’re very grateful to our friends at Benchmark Coffee Traders for making this lot and this new relationship possible. The team at Benchmark have direct family ties with these coffee producers and work closely with them to bring their coffees to roasters in America. They support a strong social agenda that provides free housing, free healthcare, and free schooling to the coffee pickers and farmers who work tirelessly to help produce these unique coffees.

This lot also represents another first for us in that this is a peaberry lot. Peaberry coffee is a unique natural phenomenon, arising when only one bean develops inside a coffee cherry rather than the usual two. This gives the peaberry seed its distinctive round shape, among other unique characteristics like flavor profile and roasting behavior. Only about 5% of the world’s coffee beans are peaberries, making it even more desirable among specialty coffees.

The combination of this interesting seed structure and Papua New Guinea’s distinctive terroir of PNG make this a really special coffee to drink. This lot was grown between 1550 – 1600 MASL and is wet-processed washed coffee that undergoes Benchmark’s signature Kula processing method. Roasting this coffee brings out the deep complexity that peaberries are known for, with this lot showcasing a delicious combination of apple candy, cherry cola and aromatic vanilla. We’re very excited that we’ve finally found another great coffee from the region and very grateful for a new relationship with this team of people that truly care about their impact on people and planet.