Baroida Estate is located in the Aiyura area of the Kainantu District, Eastern Highlands Province. The estate was founded by Ben Colbran in the 1960’s when the government encouraged foreign agriculturalists to begin cultivating land throughout the highlands. Today, Ben’s son Nicol along with his own two sons Chris & Rhett run the plantation.
The name ‘Baroida’ comes from the Baroida spirit, believed by locals to reside in a large river rock sitting in one of the main rivers flowing through the estate. This particular rock has stubbornly remained in the middle of the river for as long as anyone can remember, refusing to budge through the most severe floods, even when other rocks have been washed away.
For decades, the Colbrans served as collectors and agents for large multinational trade houses supplying high-grade plantation coffee and locally sourced parchment to buyers in Goroka. Although highly sought after they were largely undervalued. In 2010, MTC and the Colbran family joined a partnership to bypass large multinational exporters and focus on small-lot unique coffees.
The plantation itself covers around 220 hectares and is divided into 29 plots, each plot a single varietal. Although the varietals are eventually blended, each lot is harvested and processed in isolation. QC procedures are meticulous at Baroida - each harvest batch is pulped, processed, dried, and assessed in separation. All Baroida coffee is washed using disk pulpers, and fermentation is typically done for 36 hours. Mucilage is removed through natural agitation.
Meticulous separation for quality control helps maintain the high quality of the estate’s coffee. After careful sorting, cherry is laid on raised beds to sundry. The best quality lots are selected, and are separated and allocated specifically for Sucafina before being hulled, graded and prepared for export.
Baroida continues to push the envelope of what is possible in the incredibly challenging context of Papua New Guinea. Their latest lineup of all three processes is certainly exciting and building momentum for more to come!
Green Coffee Importer: Sucafina
