Indonesian Coffee: What Are the Coffee Bean Growing Regions? Which Indonesian Coffee is Best?

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Introduction to Indonesian Coffee

When mentioning Indonesia, most people first think of the resort destination Bali. However, did you know that Indonesian coffee is also world-renowned? Indonesia has the largest coffee cultivation area in the world, but due to low coffee production efficiency, Indonesia's coffee production ranks third globally, after Brazil and Vietnam.

Coffee Cultivation History

The history of coffee cultivation in Indonesia dates back to the Dutch colonial period. In 1696, the Dutch governor of Malabar in India sent a batch of coffee seedlings to the governor of Batavia (now Jakarta) in Indonesia. This marked the first coffee cultivation in Indonesia. However, this first batch of coffee seedlings was destroyed by floods. In 1699, Batavia received gifts again, and this time, the coffee seedlings survived successfully and welcomed their first harvest in 1701, beginning Indonesia's coffee journey.

Initially, coffee was cultivated in Jakarta and nearby areas. Later, the cultivation areas gradually expanded to central and eastern Java, and the islands of Sulawesi, Sumatra, and Bali also began coffee cultivation.

Rise to Prominence

As early as 1711, Indonesian coffee began supplying the European market. At that time, Indonesia was the first country outside Africa and Arabia to cultivate coffee on a large scale. In the 1780s, it became the world's largest coffee exporter. The fame of Java coffee began here.

Major Coffee Regions and Varieties

The best coffee cultivation areas in Indonesia are on the islands of Java, Sumatra, and Sulawesi, establishing three major coffee brands. Among them, Indonesian Sumatra Mandheling coffee has moderate acidity with an extremely rich and strong aroma; Java coffee belongs to the Arabica species; and Sulawesi Island coffee features full-bodied beans and rich fragrance. Robusta coffee accounts for 90% of total production and is claimed to be the world's highest quality.

Kopi Luwak: The World's Most Exclusive Coffee

However, for coffee lovers, Indonesia has one type of coffee that is absolutely the dream product that coffee enthusiasts long for: Kopi Luwak (Civet Coffee). This coffee has an alternative name called "the most fragrant feces in history." Although the coffee's name is not elegant, the excellent taste is a fact.

It comes from the feces of a tree-dwelling wild animal called the "civet cat" on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. Local farmers usually consider finding "civet cat" feces as a gift from heaven, as not all "civet cat" droppings can be fortunately found. Once a few such "coffee beans" are found, locals will bend down to pick them up, carefully collect them, and then go through several processes such as selection, drying, deodorization, processing, and roasting to create the world's rarest, most unique, and most expensive coffee.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's pour-over coffee recommended parameters:

V60 at 90°C, small Fuji grinder setting 3.5, coffee-to-water ratio 1:15, total brewing time about two minutes

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473