Global Coffee Origins - Indonesia

The Rich Heritage of Indonesian Coffee

In 1712, the first batch of coffee from Java arrived in Amsterdam. However, in 1877, all coffee trees in the plantations were destroyed by coffee leaf rust disease, and Robusta coffee trees had to be introduced from Africa to replace the original varieties. Today, only 6%-10% of coffee beans are Arabica. Indonesia is the world's major producer of Robusta coffee, with most coffee coming from small plantations, accounting for about 90% of total production.

FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Coffee Origins:

The entire Indonesian archipelago produces coffee, with Java holding an extremely important position in coffee history.

The best plantation areas across the archipelago are on Java Island, Sumatra Island, Sulawesi Island, and Flores Island.

Java produces refined, aromatic coffee with relatively low acidity, delicate texture, and excellent balance. The aroma and acidity of Java coffee are superior to those from Sumatra and Sulawesi islands. The best plantations in Java include Blawan, Jambit, Kayumas, and Pankur. Java Mocha coffee is a blend of Java coffee and Yemen Mocha coffee.

Sumatra Island, the second largest island of the Indonesian archipelago, is Indonesia's petroleum industry center. The island's rubber and timber are also famous export commodities. However, Sumatra's coffee is even more remarkable. This coffee is similar to Java coffee but with slightly heavier beans. The coffee beans from Mandheling and Ankola are also highly valued, with the former even being praised as the world's fullest coffee beans.

Sulawesi Island, located between Borneo and New Guinea, is sometimes also known as Celebes. The coffee produced on this island has full-bodied beans and rich aroma. The best coffee beans come from Kalossi and Rantepao in the southern part of the island. Among the many brands, you might try Celebes Kalossi coffee.

One of the main coffee producers in New Guinea Island is the Sigri plantation. Its products, like the overall style of archipelago coffee, have full-bodied beans and excellent balance.

FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Coffee Characteristics:

Overall, FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian coffee has a very strong flavor, mellow taste, with a slight syrupy quality and excellent acidity. What attracts consumers is its superior quality characteristic of Arabica coffee beans. You can add milk or cream to high-quality Indonesian coffee without worrying about affecting its flavor. Indonesian coffee is divided into six grades, with AP being the best. But no one knows exactly what these two capital letters represent.

Flavor: Sumatra coffee has heavy beans with syrupy and chocolate notes, suitable for after-dinner consumption; Java coffee has full-bodied beans with spicy notes and medium acidity.

Recommended Roasting Method: Medium-dark roast, suitable for making premium espresso or blended coffee drinks.

★★★: Excellent

The Indonesian Coffee Market:

Indonesia's two main export markets for coffee are Germany and Japan, which indirectly reflects the excellent quality of this coffee. Although Indonesia produces so much acclaimed coffee, it's puzzling that local residents prefer to drink Turkish-style coffee rather than its long-renowned European-style coffee.

When steamships replaced sailing ships, coffee from these islands faced the same problem as coffee from Mysore, India - that is, consumers had become accustomed to coffee affected by long-distance travel, so they were unwilling to accept the taste of this "fresh" coffee. To solve this problem, the Indonesian government tried to imitate coffee affected by long-distance travel by "storing" coffee beans for up to a year. However, disappointingly, this wet-processed coffee was not widely accepted in flavor, affecting its good reputation. Nevertheless, Indonesia's "aged" coffee or "journey" coffee is still produced today. Its sales brands are generally "Old Government," "Old Brown," and "Old Java."

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473