This is our first Asian coffee, and we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of this coffee from the Kintamani region, a district and a village within that district, on the western edge of the larger caldera wall of the Mount Batur caldera in Bali, Indonesia.

We chanced upon this beautiful coffee when we were at the World of Coffee, Jakarta. It is a coffee produced by 42 smallholders from the Kintamani region, and the coffees were processed by Varion Coffee, an Indonesian Green Coffee exporter and trader.

When we first tasted the coffee sample, it was the kind of coffee that we love; clean, bright and pleasantly sweet. This is due to the washed process; the coffee went through a 24-hour fermentation, rinsed with water, then soaked for 12 hours in clean water. After that, the coffee was further washed and dried for 10 days on a tarpaulin.

What makes this coffee interesting is the origins of the varieties.

The USDA 762 was introduced to the Indonesian coffee sector in the 1950s as a selected variety from Ethiopia. It was first found in the Mizan Tafari region, not far from where Geisha was originally discovered. As a result, in some coffee-growing regions in Indonesia, USDA 762 has been mistaken for Geisha.

Due to the emergence of the hardier hybrids, USDA 762 is generally only grown at higher altitudes in Indonesia, where coffee leaf rust resistance is not as much of a priority.

This made way for the cross-breed varieties between the Coffea Arabica and Coffea Robusta (Catimor & Kopyol) or Liberica (S-795). These were essential as the coffee varieties must be able to adapt to the wet climate and the lower elevation of Indonesia's growing conditions.

What does this translate into your cup? You can expect silky mouthfeel,  mild citrus acidity, and fresh melon sweetness transitions into a green tea-like finish. 

Region: Kintamani

Producer: 42 smallholders from Kintamani

Processor: Varion Coffee

Origin: Indonesia

Species/Varietal: Kopyol, Line-S 795, USDA 762, Catimor.

Processing method: Fully Washed