What Coffee Brands Are There in Sumatra, Indonesia? What Are the Flavor Characteristics of Cupped Java Coffee Beans?

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Indonesian Coffee Brands and Java Coffee Characteristics

What coffee brands does Indonesia's Sumatra have? What are the flavor characteristics of cupped Java coffee beans? How should they be brewed for the best taste?

Among coffee-producing countries, Indonesia is one that deserves significant attention. Indonesia is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, with its islands distributed on both sides of the equator. Three of these islands—Java, Sumatra, and Sulawesi—produce globally important coffee. In the mid-17th century, the Dutch brought coffee trees to what was then Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Indonesia's Java. By the 18th century, Indonesia had become a major coffee producer, with its high-quality Arabica coffee almost entirely supplied to Europe. However, by the 19th century, coffee leaf rust disease that first appeared in Ceylon in 1869 also spread to Indonesia. By 1877, most coffee plantations on the Indonesian islands had been destroyed by rust disease, forcing the Dutch to import other coffee varieties from Africa—namely, Robusta coffee. It is more resistant to pests and diseases but inferior in quality. About 90% of Indonesian coffee is Robusta beans, approximately 6.8 million bags annually, with less than 10% being Arabica coffee.

Java Coffee: From Arabica to Robusta

Java coffee, produced on Indonesia's Java Island, originally belonged to the Arabica coffee species. Pest and disease issues caused Java, once renowned for its high-quality Arabica coffee production, to switch to cultivating Robusta coffee due to fear of pest and disease infestations. The precious Arabica Java coffee thus disappeared from people's view, and the immense favor and pursuit that Java coffee once enjoyed completely vanished.

Indonesian coffee grading is based on defect ratios, divided into 6 levels: G1 to G6, with G1 being the highest grade. Java coffee beans undergo washed processing.

Flavor Profile of Java Arabica Coffee

Java's Arabica coffee possesses a wonderful fruity flavor, with notes of blackberry and grapefruit, making it a favorite among many coffee connoisseurs. This coffee features excellent medium body with a crisp and clean mouthfeel. Its refreshing flavor makes it most suitable for iced coffee consumption in summer. When tasting this coffee, pairing it with acidic fruits like pomelo will surely provide you with the best coffee experience.

The bitterness and richness of Java coffee, combined with the sweet richness of chocolate syrup, make Java coffee even more mellow and smooth.

Dry Aroma: Rich and full-bodied, with nutty sweetness.

Wet Aroma: Nutty fragrance with special tobacco notes.

Flavor: Sweetness of blackberry, chocolate syrup, and grapes, with clear and balanced acidity and bitterness.

Indonesian Coffee: Rich Aroma, Low Acidity, Excellent Body

At the end of the 17th century, the Dutch East India Company transplanted Arabica trees (Typica) from India to Jakarta on Java Island. Due to suitable climate and soil conditions, Arabica quickly spread to Sumatra in the northwest of Java Island and to another large island in the northeast, Sulawesi. However, in the 1880s, Java experienced a severe leaf rust outbreak that wiped out nearly all Arabica plants. The Dutch switched to cultivating the more disease-resistant Robusta variety, stabilizing Indonesia's coffee industry. To this day, Robusta remains the mainstay of Indonesian coffee, accounting for 90% of Indonesia's coffee production, distributed in low-altitude areas of Java and Bali Island. The elegant-flavored Arabica is mainly distributed in northern Sumatra, Sulawesi, and higher altitude areas of Java Island. Although it accounts for only about 10% of Indonesia's coffee production, the reputations of Mandheling, Golden Mandheling, Lake Tawar, Gayo Mountain, Ache, Sulawesi, Aged Mandheling, and Old Brown Java have made Indonesian coffee famous in the specialty coffee world for decades, unburdened by other inferior Robusta varieties.

Mandheling: The Misnomer of Indonesian Specialty Coffee

Through widespread popularization, Mandheling seems to have become synonymous with Indonesian specialty coffee. In reality, Mandheling is neither an Indonesian place name, production region name, port name, nor coffee variety name, but rather a mispronunciation of the Mandheling people who originally inhabited Sumatra. (For detailed reasons, please refer to recommended reading -- Coffee Studies) According to research, the Mandheling people are direct descendants of the Batak people, who excel at coffee cultivation. The actual situation is that the Batak people, not the Mandheling people, and certainly not a "Mandheling" ethnic group, are still growing coffee in the mountainous areas of central and northern Sumatra today.

Sumatra: Four Types of Coffee Systems

Sumatra is the main production area for Indonesian specialty coffee beans, with a very complex coffee system. Based on book introductions, it can be roughly divided into four types:

(1) Mandheling: Refers to the semi-dry or natural processed beans most famous from the Lintong mountainous area at 900-1200 meters elevation on the southwest shore around Lake Toba in central-northern Sumatra. The Batak people are the main coffee farmers in this region. It uniquely possesses the deep aroma of herbs and forest wood.

(2) Golden Mandheling: Having undergone four manual screenings, it is of a higher grade than regular Mandheling. Rich, bright, with excellent sweetness.

(3) Lake Tawar Coffee: Refers to washed, semi-washed, or less commonly natural processed beans from the Gayo Mountain area at 800-1600 meters elevation near Lake Tawar in the northernmost Ache region of Sumatra. The acidic aroma is brighter, with less obvious musty notes. "Sumatra Ache Gold" has the classic fruity sweetness of La Minita, with distinct peach and almond flavors, gentle fruit acidity, and a finish with Indonesia's unique woody aroma.

(4) Aged Mandheling: Sweet as honey and similar to Java's Old Brown. The maturation of aged beans takes about 2-3 years, making them truly artisanal beans. Aged beans have a yellowish-brown or dark brown color that may not be appealing, but their sweetness is exceptional. The aged processed Java Old Brown is even superior to Aged Mandheling in sweetness, body, and cleanliness.

Sulawesi: Small Quantity, High Quality, Rich Floral Aroma

The burlap bags of "Sulawesi" coffee often feature three English words: "Celebes," "Toraja," and "Kalossi." "Celebes" is the island's old name during Dutch colonial rule, "Sileberi Island," which has long been changed to Sulawesi. "Toraja" is not a place name, city name, or variety name, but rather the "Toraja" (or translated as Tarloka) people who are skilled at coffee cultivation in the central mountainous areas of Sulawesi, and it's also the name of the island's specialty beans. Like the aforementioned Mandheling and Gayo people, they belong to ethnic groups proficient in coffee cultivation. "Kalossi" is the small town of Kalossi in the central part of the island, serving as the centralized trading place for Toraja (Tarloka) coffee beans.

Toraja (Tarloka) is also one of the world's rare specialty beans, with an annual production of about 1,000 metric tons, distributed on the rugged slopes at about 1,200 meters in central and southwestern Sulawesi. Cultivation and harvesting are both challenging, with an average annual yield of only 300 kg per hectare, far below the average of over 1,000 kg in Central and South America. Toraja (Tarloka) has three major estates: "PT Kapal Api" with 2,000 hectares of coffee gardens; "CSR" ranking second with 1,100 hectares of coffee gardens; and Japan's "Key Coffee" "Toarco Jaya" as the third largest estate with 700 hectares of coffee gardens. In other words, Toraja is more precious and rare than Mandheling or Golden Mandheling.

Toraja (Tarloka) is washed or semi-washed, with brighter acidic aroma than Sumatra's Mandheling or Golden Mandheling, and more distinct layers. It has rich caramel sweetness, but the earthy, woody notes and body are much more restrained than Mandheling, with a slight floral fragrance.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Method:

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 3.5

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, using 15g of coffee grounds. First pour 25g of water and let bloom for 25 seconds. Second pour to 120g and stop pouring. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to halfway, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g total. Extraction time should be around 2:00.

Analysis: Using a three-stage brewing method to clearly distinguish the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains quickly, stopping the pour can help extend the extraction time.

Important Notice :

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