What is Java Coffee? How Much Does Bolivian Java Coffee Cost?

Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange

The Java Coffee Variety: A Hidden Gem

The coffee varieties we hear about most often include local landraces, Catuai, Catimor, Bourbon, Gesha and others. One variety, though, may be less familiar to you: Java. FrontStreet Coffee once came across a batch of Java variety coffee from Bolivia, a paradise for coffee growing, and it amazed us with floral notes and citrus flavors that called Gesha to mind.

Java Variety's Gesha-like Characteristics

Known locally in Bolivia as "long bean," this variety takes its nickname from its elongated bean shape. Its official name is Java, a fascinating variety whose name strongly suggests a connection to Indonesia. In reality, Java began as a coffee tree from the primeval forests of Ethiopia, collected by local communities and then carried through Yemen to Indonesia, where it was given the name Java. People long assumed Java was a branch of Typica, but genetic comparison later showed that it actually descends from the Ethiopian variety Abysinia.

Java's Global Journey

From Indonesia, Java first spread to the nearby Timor island archipelago, then on to Cameroon in East Africa, where it was released to farmers for cultivation in 1980. Its introduction to Central and South America was led by the breeding expert Benoit Bertrand, who brought it to Costa Rica in 1991 through CIRAD, the Centre de Cooperation Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Developpement. Panama was the first Central American country to officially recognize the Java variety, while its arrival in Bolivia came by way of Nicaragua.

Characteristics of the Java Variety

True to its name, the long bean variety has elongated fruit and seeds. Its young shoots are bronze-colored, and the plant grows quite tall while yielding little. Thanks to a flavor profile that rivals Gesha, combined with stronger resistance to leaf rust and coffee berry disease, it is well suited to cultivation by small-scale farmers.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If Java's Gesha-like character appeals to you, it is worth exploring the real thing. For a gentle introduction, FrontStreet Boquete Geisha Coffee is a Panama Geisha that delivers the classic orange-blossom honey sweetness, a refined oolong tea sensation and fine fruit acidity with clear layers, all at a friendly price.

For an Ethiopian expression of the variety, FrontStreet Granada Estate Geisha Coffee comes from a processing station set on the border of the Kochere and Genlana Abaya areas, founded in 2014 and managed by Mr. Israel Degefa, with some 700 hectares of surrounding coffee land, much of it still uncultivated and rich in soil and shade trees. The cherries are hand-picked fully ripe and dried on raised beds for 14-20 days depending on the weather. Roasted medium-light, it pours out a bright citrus acidity, an elegant ginger flower aroma and the ripe, full sweetness of fruit, with a delicate, silky body and the refined finish that defines the variety.