Is Sulawesi Coffee Good? The Flavor Profile of Indonesia's Famous Sulawesi Coffee Brand

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Sulawesi's Rich Coffee Heritage

Sulawesi Island (Celebes) was under Dutch rule from 1605 until World War II and was deeply influenced by them. In 1669, the Dutch East India Company controlled Sulawesi's trade. In the mid-1600s, the Dutch built Fort Rotterdam in Ujung Pandang (now Makassar), which lasted until 1905 when they completely conquered the entire island, incorporating it into the Dutch East Indies. In the 1700s, the East India Company controlled all coffee production in Indonesia and introduced Arabica coffee (Typica variety) to Sulawesi in 1750.

The Journey to Tana Toraja

Getting from Minneapolis, USA to Tana Toraja in Sulawesi takes quite some time: Minneapolis-Tokyo-Singapore-Jakarta-Makassar, followed by an eight-hour drive north to Rantepao in Tana Toraja. This place is simply one of the most beautiful in the world - lush green, with rice paddies as far as the eye can see, and an atmosphere of tranquility. Traditional high-roofed boat-shaped houses (Tongkonan Houses) are everywhere, adorned with special Toraja carvings as decorations.

Innovations in Coffee Processing

Traditionally, Indonesian coffee was processed using the wet-hulling method (Giling-Basah) for green beans, or similar to the Sumatra region using wet stripping methods; Toarco, a Japanese-Indonesian joint venture, introduced the traditional Central American washed processing method to Sulawesi in 1976.

Pedamaran Farm and Quality Control

Toarco operates the Pedamaran Farm, located at elevations of 900-1250 meters, which purchases undried green beans (approximately 40% moisture) from small coffee farmers. These farmers typically grow coffee at elevations of 1200-1800 meters. After the green beans are quickly transported to Pedamaran Farm, they are placed on raised beds for drying at the farm's processing plant. If coffee farmers wish to sell their green beans to Toarco, they must provide green bean grade certification, including details on selective harvesting, storage, transportation, moisture content, and more. Farmers need to apply for coffee identity cards to sell coffee during weekly market days in the Tana Toraja region. This particular batch of coffee comes from higher elevation growing areas.

Coffee Varieties and Their Impact

Most coffee in the Tana Toraja region is of the S795 variety, a Typica hybrid, which once again demonstrates how deeply variety affects coffee flavor. Indonesia has many Timor hybrids, which are cross-breeds of Robusta and Arabica, but Tana Toraja has successfully preserved higher-quality coffee varieties.

Sulawesi Coffee's Exceptional Flavor Profile

Compared to other Indonesian islands, 95% of coffee trees on Sulawesi are Arabica. Well-processed coffee exhibits grapefruit, berry, nut, and spice aromas. The taste is aromatic and delicious, with low acidity and full body. It features bright black berries, ripe fruit, and palm sugar sweetness, with blackberry and raspberry-like acidity. The body is full and rich, with continuously evolving mid-to-late flavor notes that are truly satisfying! The large-sized beans are plump, exceeding 19 screen size. Even more precious is the complete absence of traditional Indonesian earthy and mushroom-like flavors. This is definitely not to be missed!

FrontStreet Coffee

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

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473