Cupping Notes: Pomegranate, strawberry tart, cinnamon, chocolate, clove
About This Coffee
Mount Cikurai Garut is famous as the highest mountain in Garut, standing 2,281 meters above sea level. The area is divided into three sub-districts, Bayongbong, Cilawu and Cikajang where many coffee and vegetable plantations are found. Some 69 smallholder farmers in the Cikajang area contribute cherry to this lot, delivering directly to the wet mill in Leles Garut. The coffee is promptly depulped and undergoes a classic washed process. The facilities at the mill enable this processing method, as it is possible to control the drying with greater consistency, a difficult feat for smaller operations due to the humid conditions.
Country of Origin: Java Indonesia
Region: Cikajang, Jawa Barut
Producer Type: Small Holder Farmers
Processing: Washed
Processing Description: Fermented 16 hours, sun dried on patios
Growing Altitude: 1550 MASL
Species: Arabica
Varietals: Catimor, Tim Tim, Typica
Screen Size: 17/18
History of Coffee in Java
Although coffee was first planted successfully on Java around 1700, cultivation spread slowly throughout what would become the great archipelagic state of Indonesia. In fact, the green coffee of Java served as progenitor to the coffees of far off Central America and had begun its ascent to being considered, alongside Arabian Mocha, as one of the best coffees in the world, long before commercial cultivation spread to nearby islands. At the same time, it should be noted that nearly all coffee from any island in the Dutch East Indies was considered “Java” until the early 20th century, so whose to say what Java was before then.
Growing Coffee in Java
Some of the large coffee estates created by the Dutch 175 years ago can still be found on the volcanic Ijen Plateau at the eastern tip of Java, but most coffee farmers are smallholders growing coffee on an average of 1.5 hectare, many of them among a cluster of volcanoes in West Java, where coffee cultivation first began on the island. Although disease resistant Robusta became the dominate coffee crop, West Java has seen a steady increase in Arabica production in recent years. Arabica generally grows above 1200 meters and virtually all coffee is fully washed.