Java and Mantenin What's the connection How Mantenin became synonymous with Sumatra coffee

The history of growing coffee in Indonesia can be traced back to 1696, when the Dutch East India Company brought the Tibica seed from Arabica to Java. Due to the suitable environment, the planting area quickly expanded to Sumatra and Sulawesi in the north of Java.

Until 1908, a serious leaf rust disease caused most coffee plantations to plant robusta species instead, so although Indonesia is the third largest coffee producer in the world, it mainly exports cheap robusta beans. Although Robusta accounts for more than 90% of Indonesian coffee, it still retains high-quality Arabica coffee at higher elevations in northern Sumatra and Java.

During World War II, the Japanese army encountered high-quality manning coffee in Sumatra. For this reason, the coffee was planted by the Mantenin ethnic minority living in the northern highlands of Sumatra. After the war, it was introduced into Japan. Mantenin has been synonymous with Sumatran coffee ever since.