Indonesia

What Is Indonesian Coffee?

Indonesia is one of the biggest coffee producers in the world, churning out a massive 12.1 million 60kg bags of coffee bags in 2020. A mountainous and volcanic country, Indonesia was one of the first in the world to start growing coffee commercially – before Africa, Asia, and Central and South America. Making Indonesian coffee a long time favourite. Indonesia has over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Read more >

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Indonesian Coffee

Indonesia is one of the biggest coffee producers in the world, churning out a massive 12.1 million 60kg bags of coffee bags in 2020. A mountainous and volcanic country, Indonesia was one of the first in the world to start growing coffee commercially – before Africa, Asia, and Central and South America. Making Indonesian coffee a long time favourite.

Indonesia has over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Throughout the territory, both Arabica beans, known for their smooth, sweet flavour and notes of chocolate and sugar, and Robusta beans, known for their high caffeine content, are cultivated. The Coffea Arabica plant grows at higher altitudes and requires more care. In comparison, the Coffea robusta plant does better in lower altitudes and is generally more robust and resistant to insects, hence its name. Of these, 25% of exported Indonesian coffee beans are arabica, and the balance is robusta.

Most of Indonesia’s Arabica beans are wet-processed or treated via the Giling Basah method. This implies that the hulls of the coffee beans are removed before they are allowed to sit, partially dry, and ferment in the sun. Other terms used to describe this process include wet-hulling or wet-grinding. This treatment is largely responsible for the bright, complex, and slightly acidic character of Indonesian Arabica coffee and its distinctly earthy notes. Robusta coffee beans are dried whole for up to three weeks and are then hulled and sold on both the domestic and international markets.

Common Indonesian Coffee Varieties

Because Indonesia encompasses thousands of different islands, it's only normal that each variety of coffee beans has its very own distinct flavour notes. Generally speaking. However, generally speaking, Indonesian coffee may be best described as smooth, sweet, and balanced. Some of the more common flavours of notes include cacao, leather, wood, tobacco, and smoke. Indonesian coffees are also known for their pronounced acidity. 

Many of the country’s high-quality coffees are named after the regions where they were grown. These include Bali, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Java, Timor, and Papua. 

Brewing Indonesian Coffee

Drinking coffee has become an integral part of the cultural landscape in Indonesia. While most locals prefer to drink black coffee with lots of sugar, Indonesians also frequently serve coffee with herbs and spices.

Indonesian coffee is brewed in all the same ways we brew coffee in North America, though there does seem to be a marked preference for instant coffee.

Coffee Fun Facts

Of Indonesia's coffee varieties, perhaps the most off-the-wall is "kopi luwak." Indeed, Kopi Luwak is one of the world's most expensive coffees, primarily due to its labour-intensive production and manual harvesting.

"Kopi" means coffee in Indonesian, and "Luwak" means civet. Kopi Luwak is a coffee bean processed by the Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). Yes, you read that right! The animal consumes coffee cherries from the coffee plant when they are ripe, which are then partially digested – digestive enzymes enter the beans and change their composition.  

The remaining coffee beans are collected and washed once they have been excreted naturally. Kopi Luwak coffee is extremely rare and can retail for up to $600 a kg. The flavour is said to be smooth and sweet, without any bitterness. Try it if you are on the more adventurous side!

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