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AAK Cooperative • Papua New Guinea

AAK Cooperative • Papua New Guinea

$21.75
$21.75
Sale Sold out

TASTING NOTES: Dark Chocolate • Cranberry • Walnut • Brown Sugar
COUNTRY: Papua New Guinea
PRODUCER: 64 Single-Family Villages
PROCESSING: Washed

Amount:
  • WHOLE BEAN WHOLE BEAN
  • COARSE - FRENCH PRESS/COLD BREW COARSE - FRENCH PRESS/COLD BREW
  • MEDIUM COARSE - CHEMEX MEDIUM COARSE - CHEMEX
  • MEDIUM - DRIP BREWER MEDIUM - DRIP BREWER
  • MEDIUM FINE - V60/AEROPRESS MEDIUM FINE - V60/AEROPRESS
  • FINE - ESPRESSO FINE - ESPRESSO
  • Free shipping over $65 OR subscriptions with 2 or more 12oz bags
  • Ships fresh from Pittsburgh, PA
  • Low emission coffee roaster
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Country

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea
Region

Highlands

Producer

64 Single-Family Villages

Altitude

1400-1615 masl

Varieties

Bourbon, Typica, Caturra, Catuaí, Arusha

Processing

Washed

Drying

Various

This is our first year purchasing coffee from the AAK Cooperative (AAK), via Crop to Cup. This coffee is replacing Kunjin as our ‘staple’ offering from Papua New Guinea! We were introduced to the AAK by one of our importing partners, Crop to Cup, in 2023, and they have been working with AAK since 2011. We believe their relationship has been built to last, and we want to support both of their goals and vision for the future by being a consistent partner who purchases from them annually.

This coffee comes from 64 different “house-lines”, or single-family villages, each with languages and traditions uniquely their own. What binds them is a creole language called Tok Pisin (despite the over 850 languages spoken throughout the country!) and their membership in AAK. The name itself stands for Apo, Angra, and Kange; all words for “Unity” in three major local languages. 

AAK has historically been led by Brian Kuglame, who tragically passed away in 2022. Following his passing, the central leadership structure of the cooperative weakened, devolving to the “cluster” level, (these clusters are a way to denote different village groupings operating within the coop) with much of the day-to-day organizing carried forward by Crop to Cup’s exporting partner, PNGCE, and their lead coordinator, Regina Lusaro. Cooperative export structures have always been challenged by PNG’s linguistic and cultural diversity, however AAK has stood apart as an exception: uniting farmers across the Western, Central, and Eastern Highlands into cohesive clusters committed to quality. 

Each harvest in PNG is shaped by whether groups maintain cohesion, whether washing stations stay active, and whether coffee makes it past intermediaries without being sold elsewhere. More than 80% of PNG’s coffee comes from smallholders with tiny plots of land, very low yields, and little to no infrastructure connecting them. Additionally, middlemen play an outsized role in moving cherries down from remote highland villages; while these middlemen extend access, they also complicate the link between producer and buyer, making promotion of quality coffee more difficult. The country offers extraordinary coffees, but we are told turning that potential into reliable, traceable supplies remains as challenging as it is rewarding. Few organizations in PNG have so successfully brought so many disparate groups together, and AAK continues to hold coffee at the center of that effort. 

AAK is the embodiment of what we think coffee is all about. We chose to work with this coffee because we feel that the story and message of the AAK Cooperative is beautifully in line with our philosophy and theory behind green buying. We are honored to be a part of the work that these farmers do, to highlight their coffee to the best of our abilities, and to share and enjoy it with the communities we serve. This coffee is clean, sweet like brown sugar and has notes of chocolate, walnuts, cranberries and raisins.

FAQs

Shipping Information

We operate and roast Monday-Friday and strive to ship your order within 2-4 business days (not including weekends). All items will ship together. Your order will be delivered by UPS or USPS to your door within 2-4 business days of the package being shipped. You will receive a tracking notification when your order ships.

Roasting Information

All coffee is roasted fresh to order on our Loring S35 Kestrel Coffee Roaster. All bags are stamped with the roast date, and we think coffee tastes best if consumed within 2-4 weeks. However, if left whole bean and stored in a cool, dry place away from sunlight, the coffee can remain enjoyable for up to 4-6 months, depending on the bag or container. Most of our coffee is roasted to a medium or light/medium roast level, except for All Day, which is our staple dark roast offering.

How do I purchase this as a gift?

You can include a note when adding the product to your cart (or by emailing our team) to request that certain coffees be excluded.

Subscription FAQs

You select the product and options that best meet your needs, and our team takes care of the rest! Learn more about oursubscription policy and full FAQs.

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About Us

SUSTAINABILITY: Commonplace Coffee focuses on environmental sustainability by using a low-emissions coffee roaster, plant-based coffee bags, and more. Read about our sustainability practices here.

RELATIONAL COFFEE SOURCING: Commonplace Coffee honors supply chain stakeholders by maintaining multi-year sourcing relationships and working with smallholder farmers. Kunjin, our longest continuous offering, has been in our lineup since 2013. 

OUR MISSION: Commonplace Coffee exists to foster and build community through coffee with Craft and Care. Read about our full mission and values here.

GIVING BACK: Commonplace Coffee’s charitable giving program raises money for local and national nonprofits via donation-based coffee blends, retail days of giving, and more. Learn more about our charitable giving in our annual transparency report.

CRAFT & CARE: Commonplace Coffee is made with craft and care. We believe that the best coffee balances scientific knowledge and dedicated practice with intention and heart.