Tanna Coffee

Overview

Tanna Coffee Development Company was founded in 1982 to revive Vanuatu's coffee industry shortly after the country's independence from Anglo-French rule. After the original operation collapsed in the mid-1990s under climatic stress and leaf rust, private investors replanted with semi-Dwarf Catimor Arabica hybrids; production now exceeds 50 tonnes annually across 550 smallholder farmers on Tanna Island, with all roasting done in Port Vila.

Known for

• Vanuatu FIRST 1982 (post-independence project)
• single-origin Tanna Island Arabica
• 550 smallholder farmer base across Tanna
• Cyclone Pam 2015 destroyed 90% of trees — operation rebuilt
• Mele Bay roastery-cafe across from Hideaway Island
• Fairtrade
• Blue Pacific blend tributing neighbouring islands' smallholders

Why it matters

Tanna Coffee is the rare producer-roaster that controls every step from cherry to retail bag inside a single small island nation. Cyclone Pam (March 2015) destroyed roughly 90% of Tanna's coffee trees; the operation's recovery is now a rebuilding-the-rural-economy story for smallholder coffee in the South Pacific. 70% of output stays in-country, 30% exports — a rare ratio for a producing-origin brand.

Production

destoning

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head roaster

Robert

color sorting

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roaster machine

null

filter equipment

null

cupping frequency

null

roastery location

Mele Road, Waisisi, Port Vila, Efate, Vanuatu

espresso equipment

null

annual volume tonnes

50

Café

Mele Road (formerly Devil's Point Rd), Waisisi, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Recognitions

• Fairtrade certified

Sources

• https://tannacoffee.com/
• https://www.vanuatupost.vu/index.php/philately/past-issues/tanna-coffee-detail
• https://www.lonelyplanet.com/vanuatu/efate/port-vila/attractions/tanna-coffee-factory/a/poi-sig/1454877/362978
• https://myfavouriteescapes.com/tanna-coffee-factory-port-vila-vanuatu/
• https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294144-d3134220-Reviews-Tanna_Coffee-Port_Vila_Efate.html