The Origin of Indonesian Coffee the Historical Development of Indonesian Coffee beans the introduction of Robusta Coffee beans

Indonesian Coffee: Know Your Coffee Origins

Modern Indonesia was one of the first countries in the world to grow coffee commercially-before much of Africa, much of Asia, and the Americas. Indonesian coffee is 400 years old, but unfortunately, it is full of brutal colonialism, disease and struggle. Coffee is still an integral part of life in Indonesia today-and in fact the world's fourth largest coffee producer.

Today let's explore this fascinating and tragic country and its delicious coffee.

History of Indonesian Coffee

Coffee plants came to Indonesia in the late 1600s through Dutch traders and colonialists who obtained coffee seeds from Yemen earlier in the century (arguably through smuggling). The first coffee-growing island was Java, home to the city of Jakarta (then known as Batavia).

By 1699, the Dutch colonial government had established plantations throughout the city, and by 1711 the first major commercial exports were underway. Java quickly became one of the world's largest coffee producers and the preferred source of coffee beans in Europe.

Naturally, Indonesia is a country with thousands of islands, and coffee plantations expanded to neighboring islands in the next century. Soon Sumatra's industry flourished, followed by Sulawesi (then called Celebes), Bali, and Timor (and dozens of much smaller islands).

Unfortunately, poverty, hunger and inhuman working conditions are easy to find wherever coffee farms are located. Dutch planters were stubborn, exhausted, and demanding.

Prosperity, rust and independence

As the coffee industry grows, so does the infrastructure. Roads, railways and shipping lines have brought unprecedented connectivity to Indonesian islands.

Java coffee was eventually mixed with coffee from the port of Mocha in Yemen, which led to the first commercial coffee blend: "Mocha Java." Beans from Indonesia are sought after in Europe-so much so that they end up costing ten times as much as Brazilian beans.

Between 1860 and 1880, an industry-devastating disease known as coffee rust spread through Asia, destroying plantations in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia and several continental countries. To save the industry, the Dutch introduced a different disease-resistant coffee variety, Robusta Coffee, which is grown in large numbers across Asia.

In 1942, the Dutch were forced to leave Indonesia for good, collapsing not only because of Nazi Germany's advance into Europe but also because of Japan's advance into the Pacific. Japan's colonial rule collapsed when it surrendered to the United States in 1945, and Indonesia's growing nationalism had a chance to establish its own state.