Day 10 | Java Sunda Badak

The West Java region, famously known for its historic Dutch coffee plantations, has a tropical monsoon climate. Its geography is made up of a chain of volcanos known as the Ring of Fire. Unlike eastern Java, where coffee estates tend to be large and owned by the government, farmers in western Java are predominantly smallholders who hand pick and deliver their coffee cherries to local mills. The high elevation, volcanic soil, and tropical climate of the region combine to produce some of the highest quality coffee grown in Indonesia.

The Frinsa Collective is focused around the family-owned Frisna estate. Run by Wildan Mustofa, the estate also purchases coffee from neighboring producers for processing and sale. Wildan and his family are progressive and focus on both traditional and experimental processing as well as separating out single-variety lots. Wildan oversees the agricultural and processing side of the business, while his wife Atieq handles contracts, and their son Fikri does the cupping.

Javanese coffees have long been distinguished for their unique flavors. This is in part due to a specific post-harvest processing style called wet-hulling, or locally known as giling basah. This process was developed in Indonesia where, due to the humid and rainy climate, coffee grows quickly and must be processed frequently.

Farmers pick their cherries and deliver them to the central mill operated by the Frinsa Collective. The coffee is rinsed, sorted, and depulped the same day it's delivered, then fermented for 18 hours. It's washed to remove the mucilage, then dried on patios for 7–10 days, or until it reaches roughly 35% moisture content. It is then hulled, the parchment layer is removed, while the beans are still wet. The hulled coffee is air-dried to 10–12% moisture.

The cup is sweet and clean with a syrupy body and notes of fig, cane sugar, cranberry, and black tea.