A Brief History of Indonesian Coffee: Introduction to Three Major Growing Regions and Which Indonesian Coffee Offers the Best Value

In the coffee world there has been ongoing debate about the world's three major producing regions. Some say Brazil, Vietnam and Indonesia; others argue Brazil, Colombia and Africa. In reality, Indonesia has the largest coffee cultivation area in the world. Even so, low production efficiency and stagnant output growth mean Indonesian coffee has never quite gained the status it deserves.

Coffee's place in Indonesia is much like tea's in China — it can fairly be described as long and deep-rooted. Coffee culture is an important part of Indonesian life, reaching into every corner of it. Whether it is drivers hurrying along the road, office workers on overtime late at night, businesspeople travelling far and wide, or friends gathered in cheerful conversation — from royalty and nobility down to ordinary merchants and street vendors — everyone enjoys it.

Brief History of Indonesian Coffee

In 1696 the then-Dutch governor of Jakarta planted the first coffee seedlings, which were unfortunately destroyed by floods.

In 1699 they were planted again successfully, and in 1701 the first harvest was welcomed, beginning Indonesia's centuries-long coffee journey.

In 1711 Indonesian coffee began supplying the European market, and until the 1880s the archipelago was the world's largest coffee exporter.

By the late 19th century, however, a leaf rust disease swept through the plantations, and Indonesia's leading position in the coffee trade was ultimately taken over by the Americas.

As of 2015, according to statistics from Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture, roughly 955,000 hectares of coffee plantations across Indonesia were still in production, with 1.9 million farming households relying on the crop for their livelihood. 92% of production comes from individual farmers, with only 8% from state-owned plantations.

Three Major Producing Regions

Indonesia is known as the country of a thousand islands. Among these large and small islands, the three most renowned coffee-producing regions are Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi.

Java

The earliest region in Indonesia to cultivate coffee, it is where the famous Java Mocha is made by blending Java coffee with Yemen Mocha — the coffee impression of an era. Although Java accounts for only about one-tenth of Indonesia's total coffee production, it remains an important part of the country's specialty coffee as a fine variety with acidity and a distinctive bitterness.

Sumatra

Indonesia's largest coffee-producing region. Its elongated terrain and hot, rainy climate give coffee extremely favorable natural conditions. The most famous "gentleman's coffee," Mandheling, is produced here — rich and solid in the cup, with pleasing acidity, a mellow aroma and a very intriguing sweetness. It suits dark roasting.

Sulawesi

Yes, this is the place we often mention — Manado and Bunaken. Manado is in fact the capital of Sulawesi. Affected by continental plate compression, Sulawesi sits above 500 meters and is divided into two provinces, north and south. Sulawesi beans are the most elegant-tasting Indonesian coffee, with rich, deep and abundant aromas, extremely low acidity, and a mellow, smooth texture that is gentle and easy to drink, with earthy herbal notes. Small wonder they are welcomed by the Japanese market.

World's Unique Convergence Here

You must have heard of Kopi Luwak, one of the world's most expensive coffees. Local civets in Indonesia love to eat fresh coffee beans, and only the mature, sweet, plump and juicy ones win their favor. These beans ferment and digest inside the animals and are eventually excreted. That droppings has become the world's most expensive excrement, and its rarity keeps the price high.

Indonesian Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

The Indonesian beans roasted by FrontStreet Coffee — the West Java Honey Process Coffee — come with full guarantees of both brand and quality, and, more importantly, an extremely high cost-performance ratio. A half-pound (227g) package costs only about 118 yuan. Calculated at 15g of ground coffee per cup, one package makes 15 cups, so each cup costs only about 7 yuan. Compared with coffee shops charging tens of yuan a cup, that is a genuinely fair recommendation.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Indonesia may hold the world's largest coffee-growing area, but when it comes to sheer volume and consistency, the origin to know is Brazil. As the largest coffee-producing country, Brazil offers an enormous range of beans with a moderate acidity and a fine balance of sweetness, bitterness and body, which makes them ideal for a medium roast and gives them a nutty aroma, a mellow cup and a light acidity — suited to both single-origin and blended use.

For a first taste of Brazilian coffee, FrontStreet Coffee points to the Cerrado Red Bourbon, a classic Brazilian single origin from a region known for high-quality beans. Roasted medium, it shows cream, peanut, toasted bread, caramel and hazelnut, with a rounded, non-acidic cup and a faint bitter note; it works as a pour-over and equally well in a moka pot, siphon, French press or as an espresso SOE. For something rarer, FrontStreet's Brazil Queen Estate is a yellow Bourbon grown in Mogiana near South Minas, where fertile red volcanic soil concentrates the fruit's aroma; it delivers a sugarcane-like clarity, fruit and chocolate flavors, and a brightness other regions cannot match.

Brazil's low-acid, balanced, affordable character is also why it anchors so many espresso blends. FrontStreet's classic blend, its nut-forward signature blend and its balanced Black Cocoa blend all include Brazilian beans, which contribute chocolate and cream aromas along with gentle sweet-sour-bitterness that keeps extraction stable.