With so many coffees from around the world and dozens upon dozens of samples coming across our table, curating a coffee menu can be really easy or difficult, depending on the way you look at it. The easy route would be to simply select the ones that meet a certain quality, but to be honest, that would make for a really boring menu. If you’re the type of person that thinks all coffees taste the same, that statement rings even more true for a line of coffees that have similar taste characteristics. Although there is comfort in consistency and sameness, a lack in variety can easily lead to monotony.
At Andytown, we always aim to have something to offer for anyone and everyone that comes through our doors. We want folks to feel as welcome and cozy when they step into their granny’s kitchen. When it comes to coffee, that means offering a wide range of coffees. In the past, we often leaned on Central and South American coffees for their chocolatey, nutty, and citrus notes leaned towards African coffees for their fruity, floral notes. But in time, we started to think, there’s more to this, isn’t there? In our pursuit of flavor, we started to develop a greater appreciation for flavors and subtleties that danced outside of our learned preferences. At the same time, we were also noticing that Southeast Asia was starting to gain attention as an emerging region in specialty coffee. Southeast Asia has a rich history in growing coffee, but a majority is sold to the commodity market. As a result, the region has received little respect as a place that produces high quality coffee. However, there are many folks across Southeast Asia who have been working tirelessly over the years to improve coffee quality, and it shows in the cup. And Indonesia is one country where people have been making a lot of moves.
Our three coffees from Indonesia come from the islands of Bali, Java, and Sumatra. Each one is processed differently and have very distinct flavor characteristics!
In the late 1600s, Yemen was the world’s main supplier of coffee. Eager to disrupt trade and take control over the European coffee market, the Dutch were able to get hold of some coffee seeds and cultivated coffee trees in Java. Under colonization, Indonesians were forced into coffee production and the Dutch began exports in the early 1700s. Soon after, European colonial powers also got hold of coffee seeds and grew coffee around the world, but the Indonesian archipelago remained one of the top producing regions. Today, Indonesia is the fourth largest coffee producing country in the world.
How is it that, for a country that produces so much, we rarely see Indonesian coffees featured as a single origin, particularly in the US? While this is partly due to the fact that a significant amount still goes to commodities, it’s also important to note that Indonesia’s extensive coffee growing history has convinced consumers that Indonesia produces mild, rustic coffees. We also weren’t immune to this belief when we started as a company; it was difficult for us to find Indonesian coffees that fit our preferences at the time. But, we’ve grown, and after having the opportunity to visit coffee producing regions in Indonesia under the invitation of the Consulate General of Indonesia, we put more work into sourcing radically different coffees throughout Indonesia and highlight the rich diversity of coffees that the country has to offer.
Our three Indonesian coffees come from three regions and are all processed differently. Our first release of the year is a natural coffee from the Kintamani highlands of Bali, a fruit forward coffee with notes of strawberry, red dragon fruit and cocoa nibs. While it’s the second year we’re carrying this coffee, we featured for the first time last year as the first non-Ethiopian coffee to hold the “natural” spot on our menu. Our second release this year comes from the Pokmas Walida Cooperative in Argopuro, East Java through Belift Green Bean Exporters. This coffee has gone through the anaerobic natural process, and brings out lots of pineapple, green apple, guava, and alcoholic notes like aperol spritz. Our third release comes from the Soripada Women’s Group of Poda in Sidikalang, Sumatra, and is exported by Goodel Indonesia. This coffee has gone through the wet-hulled process, where coffee beans are depulped and washed, partially dried, hulled, and then dried again. This process originated in Indonesia due to its humid climate and is almost exclusively done in-country. Wet hulled coffees are often used in blends and have a reputation for being mild, viscous, and earthy. However, this coffee is incredibly complex and structured, having a fine balance between acidity, spice, and tea-like notes. We saw it fitting to round out the trio with a coffee process that is often polarizing to encourage folks to keep an open mind!
In featuring these three distinct coffees, our hope was to introduce you to unique flavors, help broaden your perspective on Indonesian coffees, and encourage you to continue to try new coffees from different regions. We also hope you enjoyed learning a little more about coffee production in Indonesia and have become a fan! All three coffees are now on our menu for a limited time, so if you’d like to run your own tasting to discover the flavors of Indonesian coffee, be sure to snag them all while you can!