It’s been a while since we last offered coffee from Indonesia. And the harvests from this country get better and better every year. The coffee from the Iljen Highlands washing station is a beautiful testament to that and it’s again a notch better than it was last year.
A selection of coffee of exceptional quality and character is grown on the slopes of Mount Ijen in East Java . The volcanic soil in this area is rich in minerals. As a result farmers here can grow different varieties such as Typica, S795 and Andungsari.
Pickers on smaller farms hand-pick only the ripest and fullest red cherries during the harvest . The fresh harvest is transported to the Iljen washing station in the village of Botolinggo. There the cherries are rinsed and soaked in canals to sort them according to density. Qualified workers manually remove any defects and ensure that only cherries of premium quality are passed on. The sorted cherries are then stripped of their outer skin and flesh. The grains undergo a 24-hour fermentation in a tank which allows the delicate flavours to develop. After fermentation they are washed thoroughly to remove any remaining pulp.
The parchment coffee is spread out in the sun and slowly dried for 5-7 days. Frequent turning of the beans prevents uneven drying. When the beans reach the ideal moisture content they are sent to the Driyorejo dry mill. Here the parchment is removed and the green grains undergo a number of sorting processes. They are sorted according to size, examined for defects and graded according to density. Only the largest and most uniform grains are selected for export.
The end result is a high quality fully washed coffee that reflects the distinctive region of East Java. Care and skill in processing bring out the flavour inherent in the beans.
Our baristas notes:
Pleasant sweet and smooth espresso. Easy to work with, nicely steady and beautifully juicy. Indonesia on espresso is a very popular coffee every year and this is a clear evidence why. The pleasant acidity of apricot is replaced by a sweet, juicy redcurrant flavour on the body which slowly blends into an aftertaste similar to a good quality dark chocolate. The espresso worked best for us at around 26 seconds at a shorter ratio of 1:2.17. We shortened the espresso by another 2g into the milk to make the cappuccino fuller and sweeter. After that the notes of caramel cookie and pecans have stood out.
