Most farmers in Papua New Guinea grow coffee on small plots of land interspersed with other cash and food crops. Most of the land on which coffee is grown is more likely to be called "coffee gardens" than farms or plantations. ‎
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Many smallholder farmers in Papua New Guinea process cherries at home. Farmers press the cherries - usually using small drum grinders or other manual methods - and then ferment them for about 36 hours. After washing the parchment to remove residual slime, manufacturers dry the parchment to 10.5% moisture. The preferred drying methods are sun drying on raised beds or tarps or mechanical dryers, the most popular of which is the dryer. ‎
Drying usually takes place in two stages. In the first, drying the skin, the total moisture content decreases from 55% to about 43%. The second stage, the main drying, consists of several smaller changes that can be confirmed by farmers by conducting simple tests and looking at the color of the inside of the coffee bean. ‎
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Some farmers sell their coffee immediately after harvesting, still in the cherries. While this often means farmers receive less money at the time of sale, it can sometimes mean higher profits in the long run. The companies that receive the cherries can better control the quality of the coffee. In turn, higher-quality coffee can sell for higher prices, allowing companies to pay farmers more for high-quality cherries.