It finally happened. Seven years of telling people we don’t really buy Indonesian coffee and now there is one on my desk waiting to be brewed, picked apart and hopefully, enjoyed. Given that Indonesia is one of the worlds best known and largest producing countries I should probably start by explaining exactly why it took so long for us to feature one.

There are two things about Indonesia that make it unique as an origin for coffee. The first is the incredibly humid climate and the second is the traditional wet hulled processing technique known as "Giling Basa”". The two are in many ways inextricably linked because the method (which is most similar to honey Processing) was developed as way of hurrying things along before the wet and hot conditions caused spoilage during drying. In commercial terms at least this combination of factors, allied to some unique local varietals gave Indonesian coffees a big, bold flavour profile with heaps of body but a challenging vegetal and musty flavour profile. 

In the brave new world of Specialty coffee that heroes clean, fruit driven coffee styles it became unusual to see Indonesian coffee outside of espresso blends where its low acidity and full-body made it a useful team player. Dark Woods are no different in the way we use these sorts of coffees when blending but have traditionally leant instead on our strong links to Brazil and India for these elements.

So what made us finally bite the bullet and feature an Indonesian coffee you might reasonably ask?! The honest answer is probably just right time right cupping table, but more than that there is an elegance about the processing here that allows the inherent and unique character of this origin to shine. Yes there is a herbal, vegetal character, but also masses of date like sweetness, syrupy body and rich bakers chocolate in the profile. The shots I’ve pulled were super easy to dial in and the velvet richness of the texture is a joy. The moderate acidity and heavy chocolate notes worked predictably well with milk where the dairy emphasised the buttery patisserie elements.

I have to admit that this coffee sung for me more as an espresso or flat white than as filter but if you’re a fan of more classic coffee styles or you just fancy a change from all the fruit and ferment that is flying around these days you’ll find lots to love here. So, our first Indonesian coffee – but hopefully not our last.

Photos supplied by DR Wakefield

Purchase our latest batch of Indonesian coffee here