The $42-a-cup coffee, grown in one of the world’s most remote places

This is not your average joe. Coffee grown in one of the world’s most remote places is about to go on sale for $340 a bag.

On Pitcairn Island, 5310 km from New Zealand, brothers Jayden and Kimiora Warren-Peu are in the midst of a back-breaking harvest, picking coffee first planted by their family more than 13 years ago.

The beans will be shipped to the other side of the world, roasted in London and then sold by a luxury brand that specialises in hyper-rare coffee.

Described as a very light roast, the “splendidly unique coffee with a clean, sweet acidity” has notes of hazelnut, chocolate and honey.

The after taste is “plummy”, not bitter. Just as well, since the price works out at around $42 a cup.

“Actually, they said it was one of the better coffees that they have,” Jayden Warren-Peu told The Post this week.

But he wouldn’t know: the brothers don’t have a roaster and so have never tasted the finished product.

Coffee trees have grown wild for at least 200 years, and islanders have always harvested artisanal amounts for their own consumption.

But after a visit to Costa Rica, to train with rare coffee expert Gonzalo Hernández, Warren-Peu isn’t a fan of the home-roasted brew.

“Mum roasts it her in air fryer and we reckon it tastes like rubbish. After going to Costa Rica and seeing how they actually prepare and roast it properly, it's definitely an art,” the 26-year-old said.

He’s hoping to finally brew a cup when samples are sent back from London in December.

And, with a good climate and volcanic soil, the Pitkerners want to eventually rival coffee grown on Atlantic island St Helena, renowned as among the world's best.

Their economy depends on food exports and tourism, and the aim is to turn coffee production into a viable and sustainable industry.

The Warren-Peu brothers, who also produce Bounty Honey, began cultivating the coffee grove in 2019.

The trees take four to five years to mature, and the harvest can last four months. The biggest challenge is keeping weeds down and fruit flies away.

“It’s not as much work as the bees, where we have to wear suits in the heat,” Warren-Peu said. “We usually pick every week.”

This week the family picked 20kg of ripe, red cherries over five-and-a-half hours, and they are often joined by other islanders.

Once the harvest is finished, they’ll dry the cherries, hull off the parchment and then bag up the coffee, ready to send on the Silver Supporter, the island’s supply ship.

They plan to import a roaster so they can sell to tourists. “In Costa Rica we bought a bunch of different grinders and stuff, so we could actually properly do our own coffee,” Warren-Peu said.

“A lot of passengers ask for it.

“And the cool thing is, the word has been getting out there that coffee is grown on Pitcairn because we often get asked about it.”

Another coffee fan is Mrs T, the island’s giant Galapagos tortoise, a frequent visitor to the plantation.

“Since we planted the coffee she’s always been in there. She loves it there for some reason,” Warren-Peu said. “It’s a good way to get the tourists to notice the coffee because they’ll ask: ‘where is the tortoise.’

“She’s pretty good advertising.”

The brothers also feature in a new, short documentary shot by the British High Commission’s Tim Hustler on a recent visit to the island