

It combines elements of washed and natural processes and involves hulling the parchment off the bean at a roughly 50 percent moisture level, versus the 10 to 12 percent that’s common elsewhere. This processing method is very distinctive and unique to Indonesia. Their communities are instantly recognizable by their distinctive peak-roof houses ( tongkonan) and wood carvings. Most Arabica is grown around Tana Toraja, home of the Toraja people (fabled to be the descendants of divine beings who came down to this incredible land on a stairway from heaven). Sulawesi, formerly known as Celebes, has four long peninsulas that extend out from its mountainous center. Preanger comes from a Sudanese phrase meaning “home of the gods.” Coffee from the mountainous West Java is known as West Java Preanger Arabica. More recently, Arabica has been planted in West and Central Java, and production is increasing year over year. Most coffee on Java is grown on the eastern end, around the Ijen volcano, and harvested between July and September.

Half the population of Indonesia lives on Java, which is also home to the country’s four largest farms. Harvest time on Sumatra runs from September through December. Mount Kerinci, a volcano, sits on the border of the latter two. This island's best-known coffee regions are at its northwest end respectively: Aceh North Sumatra, which includes Lake Toba and Lintong West Sumatra and Jambi. For the last 10 years, farmers in producing areas including Java, Bali and Flores have been replanting Arabica. While the majority of the coffee is Robusta - a result of leaf rust severely wiping out Arabica crops in 1876 - current prices are encouraging a shift. More than 90 percent of Indonesia’s coffee comes from smallholders, who farm 1 to 2 hectares (2.2–4.4 acres). And because the harvest times on them vary, fresh green coffee from Indonesia arrives nearly every month. It’s comprised of more than 13,000 islands, among the largest of which are Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi. It’s home to hundreds of native ethnic groups and languages, but its national moto says it all: “ Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (“Many, Yet One”).

Indonesia is the fourth most-populous country in the world and the third largest democracy. Home / News / Indonesia Cheat Sheet: A Quick Intro to 13,00 Islands and 10 Coffees Indonesia Cheat Sheet: A Quick Intro to 13,00 Islands and 10 Coffees
