Matschsie's Tree Kangaroo Conservation

This coffee is named for Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo because profits from coffee enable the families in the conversation area to preserve their land for tree kangaroo habitats. In addition to funding a good cause, the coffee is an excellent expression of the region with its full bodied, long finish and tastes of dark chocolate and earthy spices. 

The fertile lands near villages in the Yopno, Uruwa and Som Zones (YUS zones) is the perfect place for coffee trees to thrive. However, access to the market has been an immense challenge. The nearest road is a 2-day hike that involves traversing steep mountains, fast-flowing rivers and dense, tropical forest.  For most farmers, this isolation has meant they are unable to grow coffee as a means of income. Most farming families have subsisted on only the food crops they grow.   

More than 20 years ago Dr. Lisa Dabek began working in the area to study the endangered Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo. Dr. Dabek soon established the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP).   

Farming families selectively handpick ripe cherry and pulp it using a classic pulper. After dry fermenting, coffee is washed in clean water to remove any remaining mucilage. Clean parchment is then transferred to drying beds where it dries for an average of 14 to 21 days. Bagged coffee rest in sheds at the airstrip for 2 to 4 months before it is transferred to Colbran Coffee Mill, where it’s milled and prepared for export.   

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a relative newcomer to the specialty coffee scene. The remote locations of the nation’s smallholders—who produce 85% of total coffee in the country—combined with historically-poor infrastructure has made the transition to specialty difficult. Nonetheless, the country is working towards innovative solutions that will hopefully lead to better quality coffee and improved livelihoods for the nation’s smallholder coffee producers. Order today!