Global Coffee Origins - Indonesia

The Rich Heritage of Indonesian Coffee

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

FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Coffee Origins

The entire Indonesian archipelago produces coffee, and Java holds an extremely important place 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, a delicate texture and excellent balance. The aroma and acidity of Java coffee surpass those of Sumatra and Sulawesi. Java's best plantations 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 archipelago, is Indonesia's petroleum industry center. Its rubber and timber are also famous exports. Sumatra's coffee, however, is even more remarkable. It resembles Java coffee but with slightly heavier beans. The beans from Mandheling and Ankola are also highly valued, the former even praised as the world's fullest coffee beans.

Sulawesi Island, between Borneo and New Guinea, is sometimes also called Celebes. The coffee produced there has full-bodied beans and rich aroma. The best beans come from Kalossi and Rantepao in the south of the island. Among the many brands, you might try Celebes Kalossi coffee.

One of the main coffee producers on 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 and a mellow taste, with a slight syrupy quality and excellent acidity. What attracts consumers is the superior quality of its Arabica 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 the best, though no one knows exactly what these two capital letters stand for.

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 coffee's excellent quality. Although Indonesia produces so much acclaimed coffee, it is puzzling that local residents prefer to drink Turkish-style coffee rather than their long-renowned European-style coffee.

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

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For the rich, syrupy, low-acid cup that defines Indonesian coffee, FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling is the benchmark. Wet-hulled in Sumatra and screened to 18 mesh with triple hand-sorting, it offers dark chocolate, caramel, herb and earth in a thick, clean body. If you want the same wild Sumatran character in an everyday bean, FrontStreet Lintong Mandheling brings clove, woody and mint notes over a full, lingering sweetness, and it also excels in an espresso blend.