Indonesia Barokah Kerinci Anaerobic Microlot – Light Roast Coffee

Taste & Crema

Arabica Indonesia Barokah Kerinci Anaerobic Microlot is quite the long name – and its taste will linger on your tongue for a long time, too. Each sip brings forth a juicy flavor of flower-dressed fruits followed by a subtle aroma of spices and finally finished with a mild, delicate sweetness. Tempting, is it not?

Origins

Indonesia, a large country in Southeast Asia, consists of more than 17,000 islands. One of them is Sumatra, famous among other for its art of growing and processing coffee of excellent quality. Let's take a look at how they do it in the Kerinci region, famous for its mineral-rich volcanic soil. That’s where we got the arabica for this amazing coffee from.

The coffee plants in Kerinci grow on the slopes of an active volcano at an altitude of 1,400-1,700m. As you can imagine, the cool nights there alternate with warm days, so the coffee plants can develop in a balanced way and their fruit ripens gradually and slowly. As is the case throughout Sumatra, there is an increasing number of plantations involved in organic and sustainable coffee cultivation. Many farmers are moving away from the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, not only improving the quality of coffee but also protecting local ecosystems and biodiversity. Shrubs are commonly planted under large trees to provide the much needed shade, but also to maintain healthy soil and support diversity of plant and animal species. Most farms have an average size of only 0.5-2.5 hectares. Although coffee is the main crop for local farmers, they often grow vegetables, potatoes and fruit among the coffee trees, which form a significant part of their year-round diet. Kerinci, like many parts of our world nowadays, is not immune to the effects of climate change, which affects rainfall and temperature fluctuations. In addition, they have to contend with inadequate infrastructure and poor training opportunities in coffee cultivation and processing.

But despite all of these issues, the farmers in Kerinci manage to produce superior coffee. They manually harvest the coffee cherries. Most of the work on the farms is done by family members. After harvesting, the coffee is delivered to the UPH (Unit Pengolahan Hasil) collection center where it is sold to the processing cooperative. The UPH functions as one of the washing stations and is supervised by a Triyono expert who ensures that standard cherry processing procedures are followed.

In the case of this batch, processed using the anaerobic honey method, the coffee is first poured into the water and the fruits that remain on the surface are removed by the workers, as those are usually poorer quality. The best, high-quality cherries sink quickly to the bottom due to their higher density. These are then placed on raised grates and sealed in leak-proof plastic bags. Each bag contains about 20kg. The bags are stored in a cool, dry place (at a temperature of 18-22°C) for 7 days. Once this time has elapsed, the workers pour the fruits out, remove the skins and place them again on raised grates – this time for drying. The entire drying area is protected from rain and direct sunlight, so the process takes approximately 20-23 days. After drying, the coffee is still sorted by hand.

Coffee packaging preview

Our quality aluminum packaging lacks any bold graphics, as we’d rather focus on the taste of our coffee. It always comes fresh thanks to degassing valve, which releases the gases that occur after roasting. Thanks to the hermetic seal, this container helps the contents further keep their freshness and protect them against humidity, light or foreign odors.