Brief introduction of coffee producing countries: Indonesia

Country profile

Indonesia, the "country of the Thousand Islands", has the largest number of islands in the world.

When it comes to Indonesia, the most familiar is probably the resort island of Bali.

A brief History of Coffee

In 1696, the then Governor of the Netherlands in Malabar, India, gave a batch of coffee seedlings to the Governor of the Netherlands in batavia in Batavia (present-day Jarkata in Jakarta). This was the first time that coffee was grown in Indonesia. However, the first batch of coffee seedlings were washed away by the flood. In 1699, Batavia accepted the gift again. This time, the coffee seedlings survived successfully and ushered in the first harvest in 1701, which began the coffee trip to Indonesia.

At first, coffee was grown in and around Jakarta, and then gradually expanded to central and eastern Java, as well as Sulawesi, Sumatra and Bali. At the same time, in eastern Indonesia, coffee was also grown in Flores on the island of Flores and Timor on the island of Timor in the Portuguese territory at that time, but the source of the coffee seedlings was different.

Indonesian coffee began to supply the European market in 1711, when Indonesia was the first country outside Africa and Arabia to grow coffee on a large scale. It became the world's largest exporter of coffee in the 1880s. The fame of Java coffee began here.

The prosperity of coffee in Indonesia was not sustainable, coffee production was fatally hit at the end of the 18th century, and leaf rust, originally found in West Java, spread rapidly, destroying the Arabica coffee estate in Indonesia. The leading position of the coffee trade was replaced by the American producing countries. However, it is worth mentioning that the leaf rust disaster did not affect the eastern Indonesian producing areas, namely Flores Island and Timor, where the genes of some coffee trees in Timor today can be traced back to the 16th and 17th centuries.

Indonesia ranked third in coffee production in the world in 2013, although 80 per cent of it was Robusta, according to ICO.

Table: 2008-2013 Indonesian coffee output (unit: 000 bags, 60kg/ bags)

Year

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Output

9612

11380

9129

7288

13042

11667

Ranking

three

three

three

four

three

three

Source: ICO official website

Main coffee producing area

Java, the oldest producing area, continues its reputation from the glory days of Indonesian coffee in the 18th century. Java coffee is still reminiscent of high-quality delicacy, when the most famous blend is Java coffee with Yemeni mocha. In addition, Java also has a very famous old coffee Aged coffee, or monsoon coffee Monsooned coffee.

Sumatra, the most legendary producing area, well-known coffee logos include Mandheling Mantenin, Lintong Lintong and Gayo Mountain Gayusan.

Sulawesi Island, famous coffee includes Delaga Toraja.

In addition, Bali, Flores and Timor are also important producing areas.

Coffee planting mode

In the Dutch colonial era, coffee was mainly grown in large estates. After World War II, it experienced the process of nationalization and the movement of independence. Today, about 90% of the coffee produced in Indonesia is produced by small farmers.

Coffee variety

At first, Indonesian coffee was Arabica, and the Arabica manor was destroyed by a leaf rust disaster at the end of the 18th century. at first, the Dutch tried to grow Liberian seeds, and later, they began to plant Robsta seeds on a large scale.

At present, Arabica species account for about 10-15% of the coffee produced in Indonesia, and the rest is Robusta. Although Liberika species are produced, they are basically not included in the coffee trade.

Coffee harvest

There are usually two harvest seasons in Indonesia, the main harvest season (main crop) occurs from September to October, and the second harvest season (fly crop) occurs from May to June.

Arabica will be picked by hand, and workers who pick by hand will enjoy a minimum wage, on the basis of which there will be performance pay.

Coffee treatment

Coffee from Java is traditionally washed.

Sumatra and Sulawesi are famous for their "wet planing" wet-hulled with Indonesian characteristics, known locally as Giling Basah.

The drying methods in coffee processing vary according to the situation: high-priced bed drying in the awning, balcony drying, roadside drying and other methods are all used.

Coffee flavor

Although the flavor varies from region to region, Indonesian coffee is usually mentioned, and the excellent full body is most often mentioned.