Different Indonesian Coffee Beans - Do You Know Bali Coffee Beans? How Much Do Bali Coffee Beans Cost?

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Indonesia: The Island Nation of Coffee

Indonesia, known as the "Thousand Islands Country," is the country with the most islands in the world. When mentioning Indonesia, the most familiar place is probably the tourist destination Bali. Today, let me introduce you to the coffee of Indonesia.

The Flavor Profile of Indonesian Coffee

What is the flavor of Indonesian coffee? Clean + fruity + sweet + spicy! However, many people disagree with this answer. They believe that traditional Indonesian coffee should have strong earthy notes, stimulating spiciness caused by fermentation, and damp woody fiber sensations.

Coffee Varieties

In Indonesia, 90% of coffee is Robusta, likely a result of the devastating coffee leaf rust disease in the 19th century. However, in the Toraja region, 95% of coffee is Arabica. The main coffee variety in the Toraja region of Sulawesi is S795 (also known as Jember), which belongs to the Arabica species and has strong resistance to leaf rust disease, with prominent sweetness (maple syrup/brown sugar flavors).

1. Sumatra: Sumatra Coffee

Sumatra Island is the largest coffee-producing region in Indonesia. Well-known coffee cultivation areas are mainly concentrated in the northern mountains. Famous coffees include: Mandheling, Lintong, and Gayo Mountain.

The naming of Mandheling coffee is said to come from the local ethnic group, Mandailing, with the production areas mostly pointing to the mountainous areas north of Lake Toba, though specific production areas need further verification.

Lintong coffee comes from the mountainous areas around Lake Toba, the largest volcanic lake in Sumatra Island, in North Sumatra Province. The name comes from a small town called Lintong southwest of Lake Toba.

Gayo Mountain coffee comes from the mountainous areas around Takengon and Lake Tawar in Aceh Province.

2. Java: Java Coffee

Java is the earliest coffee-growing area in Indonesia, dominating the world coffee market as early as the 18th century. The famous Java Mocha, made by mixing Java coffee with Yemen Mocha, represents an era's coffee impression. Additionally, there is the classic Monsoon Coffee (Monsoon Coffee) or Aged Coffee.

Coffee cultivation on Java Island initially operated through large farms established by Dutch colonizers in the 18th century. After experiencing World War II and various changes, it gradually shifted to small-scale farmer cultivation. High-quality Java coffee typically comes from the remaining five large farms. Although Java coffee production accounts for only about 10% of Indonesia's total coffee production, it constitutes an important part of Indonesia's specialty coffee.

3. Sulawesi: Sulawesi Coffee

The most famous region in Sulawesi Island is Toraja.

Toraja coffee comes from the Tana Toraja region in South Sulawesi Province, named after the local Toraja people. Tana Toraja is located approximately 300 kilometers north of the provincial capital Makassar and is a well-known tourist destination in Indonesia.

Initially, the Sulawesi coffee industry mainly supplied the Japanese market.

Processing Methods

The main processing method for Indonesian coffee is Wet Hulling, also known as Wet Hulling. This coffee processing method is one of the coffee drying methods that creates the uniqueness of traditional Indonesian coffee. In the local language, it is also called Giling Basah and is the traditional Indonesian coffee processing method.

1. Why Use Wet Hulling

The tradition of using Wet Hulling in Indonesia stems from local weather conditions. Indonesia's humidity remains between 70-90% year-round, with continuous typhoons. In some regions, annual rainfall can even reach as much as 2,000mm.

In Indonesia's such humid climate, drying coffee becomes a significant problem. Coffee drying requires longer time, during which the coffee maintains higher humidity, making it easier for bacteria to penetrate the raw coffee beans. Wet Hulling removes the parchment for the final drying step, allowing direct sunlight to reach the surface of the raw beans, making them dry 2-3 times faster than washed processing.

2. The Wet Hulling Processing Method

Wet Hulling is a variation of the washed processing method, generally completed by the coffee farmers themselves.

1. Remove the skin and pulp, retaining the parchment and mucilage

2. Ferment in water pools

3. Wash off the mucilage

4. Sun-dry with parchment for 2-3 days until moisture content reaches 20-24%

5. Hull off the parchment

6. Dry the raw beans until moisture content reaches 12-13%

7. Prepare for export

In this complex series of drying processes, coffee beans are slightly molded, creating the famous "earthy" flavor of Sumatran coffee. This natural earthy aroma manifests as complex, stimulating sweetness, delicate and pleasing, at least as it was in micro-lot estate coffees from Sumatra about 10+ years ago.

As time passed, the Wet Hulling processing method in Sumatra has been further improved, with earthy flavors becoming marginal while sweetness deepens. Some people associate these earthy aromas with: fresh leaves on the ground, tobacco, cedar, fir trees, and peppercorns. Slightly fruity, with soft acidity and heavy body.

3. Processing Defects: Kuku Kambing

When hulling off the parchment in Wet Hulling, the coffee's moisture content is still as high as 20-24%, while in general processing methods, coffee moisture content drops to 10-12% before hulling. In the "semi-dry" state, parchment tends to adhere to the surface of raw beans, making hulling more difficult than "fully dry" hulling, requiring greater friction force during the hulling process.

However, from another perspective, "semi-dry" raw coffee beans are very fragile at this time, with hardness far below that of "fully dry" raw beans, so the beans are more likely to be squeezed and injured, forming small gaps. This is what we often call horsehoof or goat's hoof beans (locally called kuku kambing).

The ultra-fast processing speed of Wet Hulling also results in higher defect rates in Mandheling. At processing plants, employees are arranged for manual defect sorting, generally including DP (double picking) and TP (triple picking). Mandheling that has undergone triple picking will have lower defect rates than double picking.

4. Impact of Wet Hulling on Toraja Region Coffee Flavor

S795 has prominent sweetness, black cherry, nutmeg spice, high body. International cupper Mauricio Murillo's evaluation of Sulawesi coffee is that it has equal emphasis on fruit and earthy flavors.

Some roasters believe that Toraja is popular in Japan, the United States, and some European countries because it can serve as a "bridge" between traditional coffee consumers (who prefer coffee body) and modern coffee consumers (who prefer coffee flavors, especially fruit flavors/cleanliness), accommodating both consumption habits.

Local roasters and cuppers believe that the flavor profile of specialty coffee from the Torajan region is: sweet nuts, caramel, medium smooth body, with acidity reminiscent of citrus and passion fruit, stimulating spiciness similar to cinnamon and cloves, cocoa flavors in the aftertaste, with overall balance and cleanliness.

Grading

Indonesia's coffee grading system can be traced back to the Dutch colonial era, and the latest standards are still based on defect counting. The 1983 coffee quality standards were revised and implemented in October 1990, namely Standar Nasional Indonesia (SNI) biji kopi, No: 01-2907-1999.

Washed and dry-processed coffees are divided into 6 grades, G1 to G6, where G4 is divided into G4a and G4b, with G1 being the highest grade. That is, G1, G2, G3, G4a, G4b, G5, G6. Usually export beans are above G4.

1. General Standards for Raw Coffee Beans

1. Moisture content. WP washed beans maximum 12%, DP dry-processed beans maximum 13%.

2. Foreign matter content. Maximum 0.5%.

3. No live insect beans, moldy beans, or stinky beans.

4. Sample defect count, 300g.

2. Grading Reference

3. Sun-dried Bean Defect Counting Reference

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