The Sigri Estate, established in the 1950’s is found near the town of Mount Hagen in the Western Highlands, The Western Highlands accounts for 45% of PNG grown coffee. The Sigri Estate sits at 1500m and quality control is prevalent throughout the whole process. The cherries are hand-picked for ripeness, followed by 3 fermentation periods interspersed with washing and then finally a full day’s immersion. They then dry the coffee on raised beds, do two rounds of sorting by colour, followed by two rounds of hand sorting for quality beans. Sigri runs a social program that benefits 1000’s of pickers, which included free housing, free schooling for the children, free health care and free AIDS testing and educational programs. The estate is the main employer and economic contributor for the region.
