Processing local coffee from tree to cup

IF YOU love your coffee, then you appreciate the lengthy process it takes for the coffee to get from the tree to your cup.
It takes approximately 3-4 years, depending on variety, before a coffee tree is matured enough to bear fruit. Then when the coffee berries start turning a bright red, it is time to pick them. The picked cherries are then dried to remove moisture before they are processed. This process can take weeks.
Once the cherries are dried to the required moisture level, they are ready for inspection before moving on the processing chain.
In picture 1, these workers from New Guinea Highlands Coffee, a wholesale depot in Goroka, Eastern Highlands, are preparing dried coffee beans for sorting and bagging for sale. The beans are bought from many coffee farmer groups around Goroka.
During the drying process, an inspector with the Coffee Industry Corporation inspects every individual bean to ensure they are the right size and weight, free from pests and diseases, and free of other imperfections. This quality check ensures only the best are bagged for consumption to maintain the high standards for coffee.
In picture 2, the beans are funneled onto large beds that allow for separation by weight and size and the beans are then packed in large bags ready for sealing and storing.
As each bag is filled, workers move them to the sealing station where one staff sews the bags shut, as seen in picture 3. Once done, the bags of quality premium coffee beans are stored in their warehouse where buyers come to buy (picture 4).
Picture 5 is a staff from Goroka Coffee Roasters weighing and packing ground coffee into their packets for retail. Goroka Coffee Roasters are one of many clients who buy their coffee beans from New Guinea Highlands Coffee.