Description
This is an organic certified, G1 wet hulled lot from Rantekarua Estate, Bittuang, in the Tana Toraja region of southern Sulawesi.The farm was originally established by a Dutch company called Van Dijk and was nationalized after independence in 1945. The subsequent decades it became overgrown forest, until 1987 when Kapal Api purchased the land and rehabilitated. The estate encompasses 1200 hectares, 700 of which are planted with coffee. A full wet-mill equipped with Pinhalense equipment is located on-site and coffee is dried on raised beds under expansive cover. Standard processing includes flotation, pulping, 24 hour fermentation, wash, soak, and 14-21 days drying. In addition to farmed coffee, the estate purchases cherry and wet-parchment from out-growers. The estate is currently owned and operated by the Sulotco Jaya Abadi group, which has a major processing facility in the Bolokan valley at 1500 meters above sea level. The road from the estate to the processing facility is extremely rough and rocky with the nearest major city (Rantepao) about 4 hours away along unpaved roads.
Similar to Sumatra coffee or Bali Blue Moon. The traditional Indonesian wet-hulling leaves a potent and darker toned cup almost always best medium to dark. This coffee is the exception, very clean screen of coffee with good sweetness and a hint of a fruity tone, makes a tasty light-medium roast as well.
Tasting Notes: Low acidity, thick and creamy, with hints of sweet fruit balancing with a strong earthy chocolaty undertone. Quite the tasty treat and surprisingly for an Indonesian, the best roast we found on this one was in the medium roast range. Smooth, clean, balanced and exotic: mostly a chocolaty cup with a sweet edge, slight hints of fruit and earth. Lighter roasts show just a hint of citric crispness with a little herbal chocolate contrast, accentuates the fruitiness but it is not over the top, too light can come off a bit grassy, make sure the beans are through first crack to just past. The darker roasts were less sweet and smooth, more potent, rough and tumble, bakers chocolate with roasty accents, not fruity and more similar to a Sumatra.
Roasting Notes: Medium roast this coffee to see it shine but very flexible, will pull fans at lighter and darker roasts as well. Light roasts are interesting but a bit off balance and will show some hints of acidity. Great prep and fairly even roasting, low chaff and not too high of a moisture content make this bean on the easier side to roast.
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