Big Country Series. 5) INDONESIA

Indonesia stands among the biggest and most uniquely characterful coffee origins in the world.

A country in full development and with enormous potential. No fewer than 5 million inhabitants are partly or entirely dependent on the coffee harvest! An excellent climate and soil contribute to this potential.

Despite the very interesting opportunities lying before them, they don’t always act accordingly. Processing is often quite sloppy, inconsistent, and slow—and you can taste it.

When everything does come together, we’re first in line to buy, because no origin tastes as powerful and full. Australians know all about this, as most of the good lots go there—of course also because of the nearby location and the highly specialized market over there.

The coffee loses quite a bit of flavor during the time-consuming transport to Europe and sometimes doesn’t stay at its peak for very long. So you need to be careful when buying.

Since 2020, we’ve been able to taste quite a few experimental lots from this region, and here and there were some very beautiful ones. Indonesia is especially a fun origin if you’re looking for a good but atypical coffee compared to the rest of the specialty market.

If you look at the most influential reasons coffee taste in a certain way, we can say Indonesia is on almost every front a unique origin.

Climate: All the elements necessary for stable coffee cherry growing are checked: Rainfall, Temperature, Altitude, Topography, Soil type and Geographical position!

Varieties: In addition to the most common classic Typica—meaning slightly less fruity notes and low acidity—there is now also some Bourbon, Caturra, and rarer varieties such as Sigararutang, Andungsari, or crazy-sounding varieties like USDA, Abysinnia, Linie S-795, or Borbor growing there! Our 2026 experimental Sadayana lot variety is called Ateng. It is a hybrid from Catimor, with parts of Timor. Yes Robusta is bit by bit making its entrance in the specialty coffee market.  I don't think any of these above rare varieties are found somewhere outside of Indonesia.  

Processing: Where all over the world good quality processing is Washed, Pulped Natural/honey or Natural, Indonesia also varies and still relies mainly on Giling Basah. This, also called, wet hulled processing is a unique coffee processing method where the parchement layer is removed from the coffee bean when there's still 30 to 40% moisture in the bean.

That still semi-wet parchment layer is removed using specialized hulling machines. This step is unique and contributes to the coffee's distinct flavor profile.

The hulled beans are further dried to a moisture content of 12 to 15% before being sorted and packed for export.

Indonesian coffees at Caffenation: 

We’ve had a long tradition of working with Indonesian coffees, although we couldn’t find any suitable lots last year. This year, however, we’re back with double trouble: not Giling Basah, but one washed and one naturally processed lot.

The ASMAN, which is currently on roast, is a clean washed coffee suited for both filter and espresso. Compared to our African or American offerings, it’s slightly lower in acidity, with notes of tobacco and caramelized sugar.

The SADAYANA lot, expected at the end of January, is a naturally processed coffee that began with a three-day anaerobic fermentation. This gives it a wild, winey, lactic character. It may not appeal to everyone, but it’s definitely a flavor experience every coffee lover should try at least once in their life.