Hi, I'm fairly new here and I couldn't help but notice that most people here still see indonesian coffee as a heavy bodied chocolate bomb, sure we have washed java and wet hulled gayo representing but we've been keeping up with the 3rd wave for the past 10 maybe 12 years so here goes:

- Halu mountain natural; (almost) like drinking a bowlful of lukewarm tropical fruit smoothie
- Semendo anaerobic; perfectly balanced with a not so subtle hint of blueberry
- Malabar washed; highly acldic coffee that hold it's flavour well to robusta in blend

These are my 3 favourites and I hope others that are aware of the abundant flavor of indonesian coffee can chime in.

Cheers

*There's a valley in indonesia that's also named "Malabar".

I enjoy Bali Kintamani from Brooklyn Roasting Company.
They describe it as having strawberry, dark chocolate profile, and I agree that it is definitely fruity. I've actually only had it as a pour over, so now I'm interested to see how it would be as an espresso.

I would argue that breaking the stereotype has as much to do with roast level as it does with a particular green from Indonesia. Not sure what others think, but in my experience many commercial Indonesian roasts are relatively dark. In recent years I've begun roasting my Sumatrans to a medium and medium-light roast, opening up flavors that are often roasted away.

EDIT: Agree with Jim's post on Mutu Batak below. Indeed this is one of the Sumatran's I regularly roast to a med-light level. Quite nice!

Since you're in the area, I'd recommend checking out Asvata's Aceh Gayo Blackcurrant Rose. It's an anaerobic process coffee unlike anything I've ever had from Indonesia before. I was gifted part of a bag not long ago and the shots I pulled tasted like a handful gummy bears. Popping with sweetness and an array of fruity acidity. I'm hoping I'll be able to get my hands on some more soon, but I know they don't really ship outside of Indonesia.

I believe it's this one: https://shopee.co.id/Gayo-Blackcurrant- ... 0203650799
Mine was a lighter roast, and as I'm not too familiar with the company I may as well point that out in case they offer other roast levels.

Brewzologist wrote:I would argue that breaking the stereotype has as much to do with roast level as it does with a particular green from Indonesia. Not sure what others think, but in my experience many commercial Indonesian roasts are relatively dark.

Agreed. I guess that's one of the major reasom why the stereotype exists in the first place, in fact Sbux used to hype up sumatran beans for couple of years.

SteveRhinehart wrote:Since you're in the area, I'd recommend checking out Asvata's Aceh Gayo Blackcurrant Rose. It's an anaerobic process coffee unlike anything I've ever had from Indonesia before.

Will definitely give it a go. Never knew aceh farmers does this kind of processing method, thanks for the information.

PortentPorpoise wrote:I've actually only had it as a pour over, so now I'm interested to see how it would be as an espresso.

From my experince, it's a bit frustrating to dial in; very sensitive to surrounding weather. Not sure if the set up is indoor though.

I've been buying Orang Utan greens from Theta Ridge and roasting it to a medium - that is for me I get first crack at 390. I finish it at 420. I find it an easy coffee to roast and a delightful coffee to drink as an Americano.