Papua New Guinea

Roots AX

This coffee, appealingly named Roots #1 after the group from which it hails, is the cumulative and delicious result of the hard work of 437 (as of late 2015) smallholder farmers from the Okapa district in Papua New Guinea’s famous Eastern Highlands. The ‘Roots #1’ group was founded by Mr. Tony Tokah, a smallholder farmer himself, who began working with his family and a group of about 200 from his community to collect and deliver coffee to the Monpi Coffee Exports mill in 2010. Since that time, farmers working under the name Roots #1 have more than doubled in numbers due to Tony’s commitment to purchasing coffee exclusively from farmers within his community.

Farm Roots AX
Varietal Arusha, Typica
Process Fully washed
Altitude 1,750 to1,900 meters above sea level
Town / City Goroka, Okapa district
Region Eastern Highlands Province
Owner 437 smallholder producers
Tasting Notes Chocolate, walnut, plum, black grapes and a hint of Earl Grey Tea
Farm Size 414 hectares in total / 1 hectare on average

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About Papua New Guinea

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Roots AX

Producers associated with Roots #1 are committed to improving their livelihoods and their community using coffee production and marketing as their foundation. They strive to produce very high quality Arabica coffee in a region well-suited to this goal: with plentiful rain and rich volcanic soils, farmers can count on ideal growing conditions for their coffee. Although proper soil analysis is not feasible in this context, given the lack of specialized facility and cost of conducting tests, soil fertility has been observed to be particularly good within the community. Farmers sustain soil fertility not through chemical inputs but rather though keeping a good cover of leguminous cover crops within their coffee gardens. After receiving training from affiliates of Monpi mills, many of the farmers are also now applying coffee pulp to their coffee trees, as well. Pest and disease control is usually done by hand, and there is no need for irrigation as rainfall reaches 2,000mm per annum.

About Papua New Guinea

Coffee is a major industry for Papua New Guinea involving more than 2.5 million people (or nearly half of the total population). The crop remains the main source of income for many highland farmers. The country currently exports around 787,000 bags of coffee, bringing in $117 million to the economy.