The highlands of Papua New Guinea are so remote that outsiders did not venture there until the early 1900s; as a result, the country was a late-comer to the coffee production. Now, the small nation— renowned for its rich cultural diversity, boasting more than 800 languages and indigenous tribes—is also increasingly becoming recognized for its exceptional coffee, the best of which comes from the Baroida farm.
Baroida was founded by Ben Colbran and his wife Norma in the early 1960s. Until 1965, Baroida mostly grew sweet potatoes and other subsistence crops, with help from the local Tairora tribe. The farm is located outside the town of Kainantu in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea, an area characterized by rolling grasslands, with a climate and conditions well suited for growing coffee. With those conditions in mind, Ben followed the government’s encouragement and, in 1965, began to plant coffee.
Baroida became one of the first coffee farms in the area and served as a source of seeds to many of the struggling growers in the area. Ben owned Baroida until 1979, when he sold the land to a trust, leaving his son Nichol in charge. Nichol oversaw the operation until 1991, when he left to work on other projects. Six years later, Nichol bought back the land, but found that the farm had fallen into disrepair in the short time he was gone. With the help of some veteran Baroida farmhands, Nichol got the farm back on track. In addition to Nichol, there are now more than two dozen key employees, whose years of experience make this high-quality coffee possible.
