JAVA BLACK PEARL COFFEE

The Bayukidul Estate is a coffee plantation located in the heart of East Java set amongst small-hold clove and sugar cane farms. The coffee is grown around the village of Bondowoso, on the slopes of Ijen volcanoes. The Dutch introduced coffee to the island of Java, and it was not long before the island's name became the slang name for all coffee. Most of the big estates on the island of Java are owned and operated by the Indonesian government, who operate mills where local farmers can sell their coffee for processing. Typica is the main varietal on the island, but the government has introduced other cultivars to help breed disease resistance. Unlike most of the other Indonesian Islands, the process on Java is fully washed, which gives the coffee a cleaner, more balanced profile. We roast our Java coffee to an 'espresso' roast to allow the richer flavour notes to develop. Tones of fig, dark molasses, walnut, clove, cinnamon, chocolate, tobacco, maple syrup, brown sugar are found in the brewed cup with aromatics of grape, tangerine, almond, light honey, tea and earthy herbal notes are noticeable in the ground bean. Farmers use permanent shade trees such as Erythrina, Albizia, and Leucaena on their farms. Shading intensity generally ranges from 30% to over 50%. The trees are also a source of food for the animals. Arabica coffee is the most competitive cash crop for the farmers. In order to minimize risk, several farmers use intercropping with other perennial crops, such as Parkia (a kind of vegetable bean) and Avocados. This coffee is produced on farms completely surrounded by the jungle, a place full of singing birds where one can find monkeys, the Civet cat, Orchid trees, and wild honey. The inhabitants of this region find their identity in the jungle, so the coffee farmers do everything they can to protect it.