Toraja coffees can come from anywhere in the Tana Toraja highlands, and sometimes they even come from outside the area and are blended with true Toraja coffees. In the very north of Toraja are the highest growing areas, like Pulu Pulu, and these coffees are brought by the farmers down to the local markets of Sapan, Minanga, Barrupu and the origin for this lot, Ke'pe, to sell to collectors for the larger mills. So Ke'pe represents one of the upstream points to separate coffees of regional quality before it is mixed to become a general "Toraja" coffee. While regions matter, much of the character of Sulawesi coffees is the result of the post-harvest process, the wet-hull method, called "Giling Basah". The dark, chaff-free appearance of the green is evidence, as well as low acidity, heavy body, and some of the muted, deep fruit notes. But with this lot, it is clear that starting with the higher-grown smallholder farms in the areas adjacent to Ke'pe, from the north of Toraja coffee growing area, means a true Toraja cup character and not a mix with coffees from the southern, lower areas. The dry fragrance isn't overwhelming, but has a lot of rustic sweetness as well as pungent spice in the darker roasts. The wet aroma fleshes out these qualities: dried plum and raisin pudding, peppery spice in the FC+ roast. The darker roast levels are where this coffee really hits it's stride: intense, thick oily body, dark brutish cup flavors, a bit foresty. It's also a clean cup, not musty, without dirty notes that bad Indo's can have, but by no means a wimpy cup either! The coffee remains darkly sweet, with caramelized brown sugar, into 2nd crack, and has no ashy roast flavors (well, not until you really burn it). The aftertaste has a pleasant, warm woody tone, with lingering caramelized sugar sweetness, and traces of fruit: berry, raisin bread, and just a bit of black currant. It's one of the best Indonesian coffees I have cupped at this FC+ roast level, with an intriguing relation between bittering roast notes and lingering sweetness.

This coffee is part of our direct trade Farm Gate pricing transparency program.

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Wet-process coffees from Sumatra or Sulawesi are rare. There are other Indonesia islands (Java, Timor, Flores) and sources farther up the island arc (Papua New Guinea) that do wet-processing. But Sumatra and Sulawesi are known for the Giling Basah (Wet-hulled) process that results in the heavy body, low acid cup profile tasters associate with the reason. This is an example of flavors from processing having a huge bearing on the cup flavors. Previous examples of wet-process Sumatra showed that when you lift that veil of "process flavor", there was little origin character, be it from the cultivar, the altitude, the micro-climate, or anything else, to speak of ... in other words, the coffee was incredibly boring. For those who dislike process flavors this always poses a problem; fruitiness from funky fermentation, or earthiness from the fact that, in Sulawesi and Sumatra, green coffee is dried directly on the ground/patio/tarp, with no protective shell or skin. So the question always in the back of my mind was this: are these inferior coffees that are being "flavored" by process, something we would not accept from any other origin. If we lift that veil of flavoring, would there indeed be a cup "signifying nothing." Well, to stand as clear proof that fear is unfounded, we offer a totally unconventional, fully washed (wet-process) coffee from the only long-established Estate in Sulawesi; PT Toarco Jaya. The operation is a partnership of a Japanese company and roaster. It's a unique flavor, and proves the potential of Sulawesi coffee: Strip off the overlaying process flavor, and it soars! Clean, bright, sweet; things that only come with good handling, good altitude, and good cultivar. While it may be a flavor profile one expects from Guatemala, not Sulawesi, it might also prove to those who don't like the earthy funk of Indonesia coffee that they CAN find something extraordinary from this part of the world. I visited there late last year and was so impressed. Toarco Estate is located in Tana Toraja and ranges from 1000 to 1250 meters, but much of their coffee comes from higher-altitude smallholder farmers they work with, upward of 1500 meters. It measures 530 hectares, but 300 is planted in coffee while the rest is preserved as native forest. The coffee is grown under a shade-tree canopy which they are restoring to nearly original condition at this writing. As I mentioned, Toarco farm also purchases coffee from surrounding smallholder farms, and provides agronomic education to these farmers to make sure the strict quality measures are met (in particular, the purchase only of fully ripe, red coffee cherry, and exacting milling and sorting standards). All the cherry is processed at the Toarco wet mill the same day it comes in from the field, using traditional wet-process methods you would find in Central America or other areas with a washed coffee tradition. While this an unusual Sulawesi cup, it still has flavors that relate to other coffees of the region. This is an earlier Peaberry lot we repackaged into our special bags to offer later. The dry fragrance is potent, with dynamic sweetness (Muscavado raw sugar) and brightness . In the wet aroma, slight traces of pine resin beneath the floral and citrus indicate the foresty character of Sulawesi. In the cup, the clean and sweet character is so unique for this origin. The body is moderate, certainly less than the wet-hulled Sulawesi coffees, but suggestions of pine/juniper resinous flavors give an Indonesian twist to a profile that might otherwise be Guatemalan. While bright and dynamic, it has a a softer side too, characterized by the floral notes and balance. As it cools the coffee rounds out, has more body, and greater intensity, and greater sweetness. The finish balances between the the floral, sweet and the foresty character I mentioned before. This peaberry preparation is, like all things from Toarco, expertly done.

This coffee is part of our direct trade Farm Gate pricing transparency program.

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