Flavor Characteristics, Origin, and Brewing Parameters of West Java Amannis Estate Single Origin Coffee

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Flavor Characteristics, Growing Region, and Brewing Parameters of Indonesia West Java Aromanis Estate Single-Origin Beans

BALI

Coffee arrived in Bali relatively late, initially growing in the Kintamani highlands. Coffee production was severely affected when Mount Gunung Agung erupted in 1963, causing over 20,000 deaths and widespread destruction across eastern Bali. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the government distributed Arabica seedlings to promote coffee production, though some considered this effort limited since approximately 80% of the island's current production consists of Robusta beans. While tourism provides the largest income source, agriculture employs the most people on the island, with Japan historically being the largest buyer.

Altitude: 1,250-1,700m

Harvest: May - October

Varieties: Typicas, Typica derivatives, Robusta

Java produces refined, aromatic coffee with relatively low acidity, delicate mouthfeel, and excellent balance. Java coffee's fragrance and acidity surpass those from Sumatra and Sulawesi islands. Java's best plantations include Blawan, Jambit, Kayumas, and Pankur. Java Mocha coffee is a blend of Java coffee and Yemen Mocha coffee.

Sumatra, Indonesia's second-largest island, is the center of Indonesia's petroleum industry, and the island's rubber and timber are also famous export commodities. However, Sumatra's coffee is even more remarkable, similar to Java coffee but with slightly heavier beans. Mandheling and Ankola coffee beans are also highly valued, with the former even hailed as the world's fullest-bodied coffee beans.

West Java Province is a first-level administrative division in Indonesia. Located in the western part of Java Island, it borders the Java Sea to the north and the Indian Ocean to the south, including offshore islands. Covering an area of 46,300 square kilometers, Java's climate is tropical rainforest, hot and humid year-round. The plain areas along the northern coast have the highest temperatures, while mountainous regions are much cooler. High humidity often creates debilitating climate conditions.

From November to March is the northwest monsoon period, with rainy and cloudy weather; from April to October is the southeast monsoon period, with more sunny days and less rainfall. Jakarta's average annual rainfall is about 1,760 millimeters (69 inches). Jakarta's average daily high temperature is 30°C (86°F), with lows of 23°C (74°F). In the inland highlands of Tosari (altitude 1,735 meters [5,692 feet]), the average temperature ranges from 22-8°C (72-47°F). Because volcanic ash periodically fertilizes the soil, Java's soil is very fertile.

"Aromanis" is a traditional Indonesian sweet snack made from basic ingredients of flour and sugar. Here, Aromanis is used to name this coffee, indicating that these coffee beans have a cotton candy-like mouthfeel. However, the coffee beans come from Ciwidey, Garut, West Java. Actually, no special coffee seeds are used, but sun-processed coffee can present such distinctive flavors. Of course, this flavor is not widely recognized in West Java, Indonesia.

Region: Mount Tikukur, Indonesia

Altitude: 1400-1600 meters

Roast Level: Light

Processing Method: Honey Process

Taste Description: Intense fruit aroma, with plum and jackfruit flavors, clean and sweet aftertaste.

Flavor: Complex floral notes upon entry, tropical fruit flavors reminiscent of mango and jackfruit on the palate, rich and smooth mouthfeel, long-lasting aftertaste.

West Java Honey Processing

Indonesia West Java Aromanis honey process scores as high as 92 points in cupping. The English name of this bean, Aromanis, is Indonesian for "sweet mango."

At the estate, we personally tasted distinctly different Indonesian coffee.

Farmers used the simplest hot water immersion method to brew coffee from their plants for us.

Meticulous cultivation and processing,

Allowed the coffee's flavor to break free from the established framework of Indonesian coffee.

Fruit sweetness, lemon fragrance, and even floral notes,

Are all boldly presented in different varieties,

Truly subverting our perception of bitter, rich flavors.

Hand-poured West Java. 15g of grounds, medium grind (small Fuji ghost tooth grinder #4), V60 dripper, 88-89°C water temperature. First pour with 30g of water for 27 seconds bloom, then pour to 105g and stop. Wait until the water level in the bed drops to half before continuing to pour. Slowly pour until reaching 225g, avoiding the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

West Java Honey Processing Aromanis

Country: Indonesia

Estate: Aromanis

Region: Mount Tikukur

Roast Level: Light Roast

Processing Method: Honey Process

Honey Process

The honey process, called Honey Process or Miel Process, produces Honey Coffee. Coffee plantations in Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, and other regions have adopted this processing method. The so-called honey process refers to the production process of green beans that are sun-dried with the mucilage remaining. After removing the outer pulp from coffee beans, there remains a layer of viscous, gelatinous substance. Traditional washed processing would use clean water to wash it away, but due to water resource limitations in some high-altitude regions, this direct drying method was developed.

Honey processing is a relatively complex, time-consuming, and difficult processing method. The first step is selecting high-quality fruits, then removing the pulp while keeping the parchment - this is the core of honey processing. The parchment contains abundant sugars and acids, which slowly penetrate into the coffee beans during the drying process. The second step is drying, which is also the most important condition for producing high-quality coffee beans.

The honey process allows coffee to retain the cleanliness of washed processing. Although the brightness decreases, it increases sweetness and caramel notes. According to different degrees of honey processing, honey-processed coffees are divided into yellow honey, red honey, and black honey. The advantage of honey processing is that it best preserves the original sweet flavors of ripe coffee fruit, giving the coffee subtle brown sugar flavors and nut sweetness, while berry flavors support a red wine-based aroma, considered very elegant products.

Varieties: Jember, S-795

Altitude: 1400-1600 meters

Flavor: Fruity aroma, plum, jackfruit flavors, clean sweet aftertaste

Indonesia West Java

Coffee beans are picked from branches and separated from fruit, then rinsed and immediately dried. Coffee beans are "diserok" (stirred) every hour to ensure even drying, including at midnight. "This is very important at night because of high humidity," said Ariyev of Transformed Coffee (August 5, 2014) - original Indonesian text machine-translated.

The coffee processing takes 25-26 days! Unsurprisingly, the price of Aromanis coffee beans is slightly higher than regular coffee beans. The Coffee Farmers Cooperative sells raw Aromanis coffee beans for 130,000-150,000 rupiah per kilogram, while Transformed Coffee offers them at a retail price of 80,000 rupiah per 200-gram package.

Manufacturer: Coffee Workshop Address: FrontStreet Coffee, Bao'an Qianjie, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou Manufacturer Contact: 020-38364473 Shelf Life: 90 days Net Weight: 227g Packaging: Bulk coffee beans Raw/Roasted: Roasted coffee beans Contains Sugar: Sugar-free Origin: Indonesia Roast Level: Light Roast

Sulawesi Island, located between Borneo and New Guinea, is sometimes also known as Celebes. Coffee produced on this island has full-bodied beans and rich aroma. The best coffee beans come from Kalossi and Rantepao in the southern part of the island. Among numerous brands, try Celebes Kalossi coffee.

Overall, Indonesian coffee has a rich taste, mellow flavor with slightly syrupy notes, and excellent acidity. Its two main export markets are Germany and Japan, which indirectly reflects the excellent quality of this coffee. What attracts consumers is its superior quality characteristic of Arabica coffee beans. You can add milk or cream to high-quality Indonesian coffee without worrying about affecting its flavor. Indonesian coffee is divided into six grades, with AP being the best. But no one is certain what these two capital letters actually represent.

When steamships replaced sailing ships, coffee from these islands faced the same problem as coffee from Mysore, India - consumers had become accustomed to coffee affected by long journeys and were unwilling to accept the taste of this "fresh" coffee. To solve this problem, the Indonesian government tried to imitate journey-affected coffee by "storing" coffee beans for up to a year. However, disappointingly, this moisture-treated coffee's flavor was not widely accepted, affecting its good reputation.

However, Indonesia's "aged" or "journey" coffee is still produced today. It is generally sold under brands like "Old Government," "Old Brown," and "Old Java."

Despite Indonesia producing so many acclaimed coffees, it's puzzling that local residents prefer drinking Turkish-style coffee rather than its renowned European-style coffee.

Origin: Mount Tikukur, Mont Tikukur, West Java?

Altitude: 1400-1600m?

Varieties: Arabica species?

Producer: Aromanis?

Flowering Period: March-May, September-November?

Processing Method: Honey Process Sun-dried honey processing?

Cupping Score: 92 points?

Flavor: Mango, red wine, peach juice, intense fruit aroma, with plum and jackfruit flavors, clean and sweet aftertaste?

Indonesia Aromanis Estate's sun-dried beans have flavors unlike typical Indonesian beans. This bean has its own unique intense fruit aroma - mango, red wine, peach juice, plus plum and jackfruit flavors, with a clean and sweet aftertaste. Cupping scores reach as high as 92 points, making it hard to believe this is a coffee bean from Indonesia. The English name of this bean is Aromanis, which means "sweet mango" in Indonesian.

Indonesia

Population: 237,424,000

In Indonesia, coffee beans gradually spread from Java Island to neighboring islands, first reaching Sulawesi Island in 1750, but not extending to North Indonesia at that time. Until 1888, when cultivation began around Lake Toba, it eventually spread to Lake Tawar in the Gayo region in 1924.

SUMATRA

Sumatra has three main growing areas: Aceh North District, the area slightly south of Lake Toba, and the recently emerged islands near Mangkuraja. Perhaps it can also be traced to smaller regions in the following areas: Takengon, Bener Mariah in Aceh Province, Lintong, Sidikalang, Dolok Sanggul, and Seribu Dolok surrounding Lake Toba. Previously, coffee beans from this region were commonly sold as "Sumatra Mandheling," but there is actually no place called Mandheling - this name comes from the local islanders' tribal name. Usually, Mandheling has grade distinctions, divided into Grade 1 or Grade 2. The grading method undoubtedly adopts cupping quality rather than the generally assumed green beans themselves. However, I still have reservations about recommending Grade 1, as this grading seems to have become泛滥 (flooded/commonplace). It's quite strange to divide different varieties into different batches, so most Sumatra coffee beans are mixed from unknown varieties. Sumatra coffee beans are exported through the port of Medan, but prolonged停留 (staying) at the port before export is detrimental to bean quality due to humid climate factors.

Altitude: Aceh 1100-1300m, Lake Toba 1100-1600m, Mangkuraja 1100-1300m

Harvest: September - December

Varieties: Typica (including Bergandal, Sidikalang, Djember), Timtim, Ateng, Onan Gajang

JAVA

In Indonesia, this region inherited Dutch colonial practices and customs, so it has more large coffee plantations. The four main coffee farms, covering 4,000 hectares, were previously government-owned. At that time, coffee beans from this region enjoyed first-class reputation, although I believe that not long ago, large quantities of blend beans have replaced other coffee beans in "Mocha-Java." Java coffee beans remained high-priced for a long time but have seen significant price drops in the 20th century. Growing areas cover the area around Ijen volcano in eastern Java, as well as the western region.

Altitude: 900-1800m

Harvest: September - September

Varieties: Typicas, Ateng, USDA

SULAWESI

Although seven major plantations supply about 5% of Sulawesi Island's production, local production is still dominated by small farmers. Most Arabica beans are grown at high elevations around Tana Toraja, while Kalosi in the south has become a brand name. There are two lesser-known regions: Mamasa to the west and Gowa south of Kalosi. A few particularly interesting washed-processed coffee beans are worth exploring and highly recommended to try when opportunity allows. Semi-washed processing is the common method in Sulawesi, and the region also produces considerable Robusta beans.

Altitude: Tana Toraja 1100-1800m, Mamasa 1300-1700m, Gowa average 850m

Harvest: May - November

Varieties: S795, Typicas, Ateng

FLORES

Flores is a small island located about 320 kilometers (200 miles) east of Bali Island, one of the Indonesian archipelago islands. As a region that joined the coffee industry relatively late, it has developed a good reputation for coffee cultivation. In the past, much of Flores's coffee production was for domestic consumption or mixed with other coffees for export, rarely sold directly under the name "Flores coffee." The island has active and dormant volcanoes, where the mixture from Bajawa volcano has had extremely positive impacts in the main growing areas. In coffee processing, semi-washed processing is the most common method in the region, with some coffee beans still produced using fully washed processing.

Altitude: Tana Toraja 1200-1800m, Mamasa 1300-1700m, Gowa average 850m

Harvest: May - September

Varieties: Typicas, Ateng, Robusta

Important Notice :

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