Indonesian Coffee Growing Regions: Celebes Sulawesi Coffee Flavor Profile and Characteristics - Is Sulawesi Coffee Good?

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The Historical Context of Sulawesi

Sulawesi (Celebes) was influenced and controlled by the Netherlands from 1605 until World War II. In 1669, the Dutch East India Company controlled the trade of Sulawesi. The Dutch built Fort Rotterdam (now Makassar) in the mid-16th century, and it wasn't until 1905 that they finally gained control of the entire island, making it part of the Dutch East Indies colony. The Dutch East India Company controlled most of Indonesia's coffee production in the 1700s and introduced Arabica coffee (Typica) to Sulawesi in 1750.

Sulawesi Island, also known as Celebes, is the eleventh largest island in the world by area and integrates the cultures of multiple ethnic groups. The name Celebes means "turbulent currents," originating from 1511 when a sailor was stranded here due to a strong storm, hence naming it Celebes.

Today, due to the area's early abundance of iron ore, the name was recombined in the local language from Sula (island) and Wesi (iron ore) to become Sulawesi.

The island is divided into 6 provinces, and this batch of coffee beans is produced by the Toraja people from the mountainous regions. Because local people still lack considerable information about export trade, partly due to terrain, the cultivation altitude is about 1400 meters, quite far from the distribution center. Farmers cannot deliver their finished products to the distribution center for sale and can only rely on middlemen who understand trade languages (English) or traders for long-term direct cooperation.

Indonesia has several famous coffee-producing islands, including Sumatra (Lingtong region, Toba volcanic lake area, Sidikalang), Java (state-owned Arabica beans), Sulawesi (Toraja), and so on.

Sulawesi was formerly called Celebes and is an island in Indonesia. Sulawesi Island is also the 11th largest island in the world. Geographically, Sulawesi is surrounded by archipelagos: Borneo to the west, the Philippines' Mindanao Island to the north, the Maluku Islands to the east, and Flores Island and Timor Island to the south. Many of these islands also produce coffee. Like Java and Sumatra, Sulawesi also has volcanic terrain, with ten active volcanoes still present in this region.

Today, some of Sulawesi's most famous coffees come from the Toraja mountainous region in the center of the island, inhabited by the Toraja people. The Toraja mountainous region is famous for high-quality semi-washed beans, with Kalosi being its distribution center.

Coffee Characteristics and Flavor Profile

Therefore, whether labeled as Sulawesi Toraja, Sulawesi Kalosi, or Selbis-Kalosi, all refer to high-altitude Sulawesi beans from this region.

The body is rich and quite clean, which is quite rare among Indonesian beans. It has intense nutty and caramel flavors, with melon-like sweetness in the middle notes, caramel sweetness, clear oily texture, and a finish with spicy sweetness. The refinement and depth will leave you savoring the aftertaste!

The palate features elegant floral aromas, caramel sweet fragrance, spicy sweetness, and green peppercorn aroma. The aftertaste has subtle candy, passion fruit, floral notes, spices, and melon-fruit sweetness. It's an indispensable delicious coffee for those who love exotic flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and lesser-known beans. They also provide online store services at https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473