The Best Indonesia Coffee Beans Reviewed
Quick summary
 Sumatra Gayo Coffee A fine authentic Sumatra coffee that is delightfully smooth, described as sweet and clean with low acidity  best overall |
 Bali Blue Moon Indonesian Coffee Indonesian premium arabica beans are carefully sourced for their exceptionally fine taste quality  |
 Sulawesi Toraja Coffee Freshly harvested & Roasted 100% Arabica Sulawesi Coffee Beans. Heavy bodied low acid level with a nutty flavor with heavy body low acid level and a nutty flavor |
Are you on the hunt for the gems of Indonesia? In this article, you’ll find some of the best coffee bean options originated from different islands of Indonesia. You’ll also find out what unites and differentiates coffee beans from different parts of this paradise on Earth.
The 7 Best Indonesian Coffee Beans Review - Our Pick
The secret of a perfect cup of coffee is in the beans. So, we've picked top 7 Indonesian coffee beans for you so you could read our short reviews and define which package will satisfy your delicate taste and desired coffee-drinking expectations.
Sumatra Gayo Coffee
- Flavor: Sumatra Gayo
- Brand: Volcanica Coffee
- Item Form: Whole Bean
- Ingredients: Sumatra Gayo Coffee Whole Bean Low Acid, Fair Trade
- Package Information: Bag
Are you in search of coffee with an exotic flavor? These are considered to be the best Indonesian coffee beans from Sumatra, and they will meet your expectations to the fullest. They have the reputation of a unique and earthy flavor with chocolate notes and are loved by coffee aficionados.
The company works directly with the farms and has established relationships with importers to provide you with the freshest and the highest-quality coffee beans. Fresh coffee cherries are wet-hulled and then sun-dried. Thus, the earthy and chocolate aroma will gladden your sense buds once you make the first sip.
This is one of the best indonesian coffee brands that roasts the Sumatran beans at their own facilities in small batches, which allows unlocking the aroma and flavor of the exotic drink. Freshly roasted beans are then quickly packed to ensure you can have a satisfying cup of java.
The rich and forestry coffee brewed from Sumatran beans has a full body that could be mixed with additives like sugar or cream. But if you love your coffee the way it is, you’ll feel a slightly dry finish and pureness. It also delivers caramel sweetness that creates a pleasant after-feel.
When going with these coffee beans, we would recommend you checking the Roasted On date. The drink tastes best when it’s brewed of freshly roasted and ground coffee beans. So, you’d better avoid the packages that have been sitting on the shelves for a long time.
Bali Blue Moon Indonesian Coffee
- Flavor: Bali Blue Moon - 2lb
- Brand: Smokin Beans
- Item Form: Whole Bean
- Ingredients: 100% Bali - Fresh Roasted Coffee Beans
- Package Information: Matte White Bag
Are you looking for Indonesian coffee beans that would be exotic, flavorful, and syrupy but without the intense earthy afterfeel? This Bali Blue Moon coffee is a perfect pick for you.
The coffee crops for this coffee brand are grown in Kintamani highland areas, central Indonesia, at the height of 1400 meters on average. The soil is volcanic, which gives unforgettable and unique notes to the drink. The coffee cherries are handpicked and then are run through two-step wet-hulling for intense and rich coffee flavor, which is so loved by adventurous coffee drinkers.
If you intend to get the most of the aroma and flavor from your roasted and ground beans, the manufacturer recommends French press brewing. This brewing technique will unleash the delicate but strong flavor and intensify its sweetness. If you resort to the drip brewing method, that would allow you to make the drink with clean flavors. When you are brewing your coffee with AeroPress or other devices with paper filters, the paper might hold back some of the aroma components, and you won’t feel the full savor spectrum.
The greatest perk of the Bali Blue Moon coffee beans is that they are freshly roasted. According to the company, they roast coffee beans every morning and then send them to their customers. In this way, you’ll be able to feel the true taste of the coffee that originates from Bali.
Sulawesi Toraja Coffee
- Brand: Buffalo Buck's Coffee
- Item Form: Ground
- Ingredients: 100% Arabica Sulawesi Toraja Coffee. Freshly harvested & Roasted. Heavy bodied low acid level with a nutty flavor
- Package Information: Bag
- Caffeine Content: Caffeinated
What does the best Indonesian coffee taste like, in your opinion? If you believe it should have an expensive flavor with low-toned yet vibrant acidity, this Sulawesi Toraja coffee is your perfect pick.
This coffee has fruit and chocolate undertones that feel creamy in your mouth due to the blend of low acidity and full body. Due to the deep flavor mixed with muted fruit notes and natural sweetness, the brewed coffee tastes good. It combines simplicity and soft spiciness, delivering wonderful sensations with every sip. You’ll brew truly delicious coffee with the rustic Indonesian character.
Sulawesi Toraja coffee plants grow at high altitudes (1100-1800 meters above sea level) in the mountainous area on the Sulawesi island, right in the middle of the Indonesia archipelago. The location and splendid climate with the right amount of sun and rainfalls make the perfect place to grow Arabica beans you all love.
These coffee beans have been wet-processed, which means that the coffee cherry husks were removed before the beans dried. This results in a clean taste and unmistakably earthy flavor. All beans get medium-dark roast by artisan roasters, so you could get pleasure from every cup. The company roasts coffee beans in small amounts leveraging the most advanced technology. They are then packed and sealed for the optimal freshness and richness of flavor.
Treat yourself to a piece of dark chocolate or a piece of fruit cake and freshly brewed Sulawesi Toraja. You’ll love this pairing and will feel the accentuated fresh fruity notes in your java.
Mocha Java Blend
- Flavor: Mocha Java
- Brand: Volcanica Coffee
- Item Form: Whole Bean
- Ingredients: 100% Arabica Gourmet Coffee, Whole Bean
- Package Information: Bag
When you are looking for some variety in your daily coffee routine, you brew yourself a cup of something different. Something like Mocha Java blend. The peculiar feature of these coffee beans is that earthy-flavored Arabica beans from Indonesian Java are mixed with bright fruity Arabica coffee beans from Yemen to create a perfectly intense and pleasant Mocha Java coffee mix.
According to the legend, this is one of the oldest coffee blends in the world. Coffee traders used to sail from Europe to Indonesia with the first stop in the Java port. They picked up Arabica coffee beans with intense earthy flavor in Java and then rushed to the port of Mocha in Yemen to grab more coffee beans. Mocha beans were characterized by a lighter but brighter fruity flavor. On the way back home, the beans from two continents were mixed. As it turned out, they had excellent complementary tasting characteristics, which resulted in the first coffee blend in the world.
You’ll enjoy the lively intensity of freshness of Yemen Mocha that is enhanced with clean earthy and spicy Java coffee beans with a chocolate aftertaste. Coffee beans for this blend are responsibly sourced from farms to ensure you could brew your drink of the highest quality. Coffee beans are then diligently roasted by trained and skillful masters to the medium level for the intense and flavorful taste and aroma.
Java Taman Dadar Indonesia Coffee
- Flavor: Organic Java Taman Dadar
- Brand: FRESH ROASTED COFFEE LLC FRESHROASTEDCOFFEE.COM
- Item Form: Whole Bean
- Package Information: Bag
- Specialty: Kosher Certified
For true lovers of rich, heavy, and complex coffee flavors with a clean finish, this Java Tamar Dadar coffee is a perfect choice. The coffee name Tamar Dadar means “flower garden,” which originates from the name of the local farm in the Java area. Green coffee beans are sourced from smallholders and tiny farms in Curah Tatal and Kayumas villages that lie on the Ijen plateau of Java. They are obtained as the result of organic farming techniques that have been preserved within the generations, so you’ll obtain a package of truly natural and organic coffee beans with a medium roast.
According to Java Time coffee reviews, upon tasting this organic Java Taman Dadar coffee, you’ll easily detect the hints of baker’s chocolate and some woody cedar flavors without overwhelming earthy notes. Because of the wet hulling, when coffee husks are removed before the drying is over, this coffee gets a rich and syrupy body with notes of sweetness.
Coffee beans are roasted at state-of-the-art facilities with the use of the latest technology. The company equipped its facilities with filters that eliminate 80% of carbon emissions. But that’s not all, they use devices that preserve and enhance the coffee bean flavor through roasting precision.
The Java Taman Dadar coffee beans are roasted fresh and are then packed immediately to be shipped to the buyers. Because of this, you’ll be treating yourself to a delicious and bright cup of coffee with an intense and rich flavor.
Sumatra Mandheling Coffee
- Flavor: Sumatra Mandheling
- Brand: Volcanica Coffee
- Item Form: Whole Bean
- Ingredients: Sumatra Mandheling coffee beans
- Package Information: Bag
Upgrade your coffee brewing experience with quality and flavorful Arabica coffee beans that come directly from Sumatra Mandheling. Mandheling coffee beans are known for being one of the best coffee beans in the world. The coffee is rich and intense and has an earthy flavor with muted acidity. You’ll also recognize this coffee by its heavy body with chocolate aroma and spicy undertones.
These Sumatra Mandheling coffee crops are grown on volcanic soil at the height of over 1200 meters of Mount Leuser in west-central Sumatra. The combination of location, tropical climate, and the expertise of the farmers is the reason for the intense and bright coffee flavor you are able to feel in your morning cup. By the way, the coffee cherries are handpicked and then checked at least three times to filter the crops and ensure you get the beans of the highest quality.
Fresh coffee cherries are processed manually by skillful masters using the traditional Giling Basah processing method. It involves hulling coffee bean parchment when its moisture content is around 50%, while other processing techniques do this procedure when 10-12% of moisture remains in the bean. Due to this processing method, green beans get their dark color, herbal notes, and spicy finish.
Indeed, these are great beans for your next perfect cup. They are suitable for cold, French press, AeroPress, pour-over, espresso, or drip brewing. This is a versatile choice for every coffee gourmet.
Sulawesi Kalossi Coffee
- Flavor: Sulawesi Kalossi
- Brand: Volcanica Coffee
- Item Form: Whole Bean
- Ingredients: 100% Arabica Gourmet Coffee, Whole Bean
- Package Information: Bag
If you are hunting for exclusive and gorgeous coffee beans with rich flavor that would give your drink a full and heavy body, that’s your chance. Sulawesi Kalossi coffee is one of the Indonesian gems because it’s hard to find since it grows haphazardly at the extremely high altitudes in the mountainous area with volcanic soil. But when you are a true coffee adventurer, nothing will stop you, right? Luckily, you don’t have to pick the coffee crops by yourself; this is a tall order for farmers who are responsible for the picking and processing. All you’ve got to do from your side is to purchase freshly roasted coffee beans and then brew them properly to feel all the subtleties and gentle notes of this drink.
Sulawesi-Celebes is on the lighter and more acid side compared to other coffee types in Indonesia. But this feature makes this coffee really special. It’s known for its heavy body with inherent silky smoothness. You’ll immediately recognize a nutty, chocolatey aroma with earthy and moderately spicy flavor enhanced with natural sweetness and fruity notes. Because of the low acidity, it’s suitable for people with stomach issues or will make perfect morning coffee.
This silky brew will reveal its full flavor layer by layer allowing you to experience an unmatching coffee drinking process. You’ll enjoy the profoundly complex profile of this beverage that leaves an outstanding mellowy aftertaste even when you are done with your drink.
Indonesian Coffee History & Reputation
When you pour your Indonesian coffee into your cup or carafe, you never think about the origin of this drink. Yes, you enjoy the dense and robust flavor, but the lack of the historical background has never stopped you from treating yourself to a cup of joe. In this section, we’ll bridge the gap in your knowledge.
Let’s start with the shocking news. The coffee plant wasn’t native to Indonesia. It was brought by the VOC company to the island in the 17th century when Indonesia was a Dutch colony. The Dutch government imported Arabica coffee to fight the Arab monopoly on the global coffee market. So, the first crops were planted around Batavia (known as Jakarta these days).
Later, coffee plantations spread all over the island, including East Java, West Java, Central Java, as well as the parts of Sumatra and Sulawesi. The growing areas of Arabica coffee were expanded to Bali and Timor. As a result, Indonesia had become the third country in the world that cultivated coffee (after Arabia and Ethiopia).
So, as the coffee industry grew, so did the infrastructure. However, coffee rust, a fungus disease, affected coffee crops and destroyed several plantations between 1860 and 1880. The Dutch government responded to this disease by bringing Liberica and later Robusta coffee.
In 1942, Japan forced the Dutch out of Indonesia, but its reign collapsed in 1945. So, Indonesia had become an independent country, and coffee plantations were nationalized. As of now, around 92% of coffee crops belong to small family farms.
Indonesia is the leader in coffee production and export. However, 90% of coffee crops in Indonesia are of Robusta species these days, which are known to be of lower quality than Arabica. At the same time, this country produces kopi luwak, which is considered to be the most expensive Indonesia coffee in the world.
Coffee Growing Regions and Conditions
Now you know a brief story of Indonesian coffee and can dazzle your friends with your knowledge. But if you want to make an unforgettable impression, let us tell you something more.
You know that Indonesia is made of thousands of islands. The island location affects the flavor of coffee Indonesia produces. Some experienced coffee testers can even easily spot the origin of coffee beans. If you would like to get to know more about the taste difference of various coffee beans, here you are.
Sumatra Coffee
Sumatra, the Indonesian island, is a perfect place to host Arabica coffee plantations due to the perfect tropical climate, equator location, and balanced soil.
Three types of coffee are sourced from Sumatra depending on the region:
- Mandheling coffee (grown in Aceh, Gayo and is considered to be the best Indonesian coffee Sumatra produces).
- Lintong coffee (cultivated on a high plateau and its beans is known for having a rich flavor and clean aftertaste).
- Gayo coffee (planted in the northern Aceh region and is characterized by dense taste).
The peculiar feature of Sumatran coffee is the processing method - wet hulling that holds more moisture in beans and is responsible for the earthy spice and forestry flavor with chocolate notes of the drink. It also gives the beverage a thick body and low acidity.
Bali Coffee
Bali is a tropical paradise that is also known for its coffee plantations. An interesting fact that Balinese coffee wasn’t brought by the Dutch people but was carried by traders from Lombok.
The biggest coffee plantation in Bali is located in the Kintamani highlands, just between two volcanoes. The volcanic ash is beneficial for coffee plants, so coffee beans will give you a very good taste.
Since wet processing is a distinguishing feature of Indonesia coffee bean processing, it gives the drink a sweet, lemony, and fruit flavor with the chocolate aftertaste. You’ll also notice the strong body and high acidity of the beverage but without any bitter notes.
Java Coffee
Have you also noticed that the synonym for ‘coffee’ is the word ‘java?’ Yes, you’re right, that’s surprising. But not that much when you get to know about the Java coffee origin (it was shipped to the island by the Dutch company a long time ago, so Java is one of the pioneers of the coffee industry in Indonesia) and the current position of this coffee bean type in the world. Today, Java is the place where one of the finest coffee is made.
The greatest Java coffee plantations are owned by the government and they include Blowan, Jampit, Tugosari, Pancoer, and Kayumas. These estates are located on the Ijen plateau at the height of over 1300 meters. Besides, smallholders are making a good competition to the government estates, which plays into the hands of coffee lovers as they have even more options of Java coffee to choose from.
Because several coffee bean processing methods (full washing, wet hulling, and natural) are used on Java, you’re guaranteed to enjoy the clean and sweet coffee taste with dark chocolate zing.
Sulawesi Coffee
If you are a true coffee connoisseur, you should have heard about Toraja Arabica. Since it’s wildly grown at the height of 1500 meters in the mountainous area, it’s hard to find. Because of that, it is exported in limited amounts. But this fact makes Sulawesi coffee even more delicious.
The coffee plants in Sulawesi are generally grown at family farms. Toraja is the primary region of Arabica production, but there are also Kalosi (a well-established brand of specialty coffee), Mamasa, and Gowa, which also specialize in Arabica but are less popular.
The Indonesian coffee beans from Sulawesi will result in a clean and crisp cup of joe. You’ll feel gentle nutty notes with the aroma of chocolate. The aftertaste is promised to be soft, sweet, and smooth. If you are looking for a drink with a full and heavy body with low acidity, go with the bright Sulawesi Toraja coffee.
Indonesian Coffee Taste & Flavor Profile
As you probably noticed, Indonesian coffee beans have different flavors and tastes depending on the plantation regions. We already described the subtleties in the aroma and aftertastes of the basic Indonesian coffee-growing areas. But there are still some common features that could be used to describe coffee brewed from Indonesian coffee beans.
- Aroma: earthy, fruity, chocolatey.
- Flavor: rich, nutty, crisp, sweet, spiced, earthy.
- Aftertaste: chocolatey, smooth finish.
- Body: heavy, full.
- Acidity: from low to high.
Purchasing & Production of the Indonesian Coffee Brands
Indonesia coffee bean production involves picking the ripe coffee cherries (bigger companies use machines, while small family farms still handpick them). After coffee cherries are sorted, they undergo processing. Both dry and wet processing methods are used depending on the region. The beans are then roasted at high temperatures to bring out the oil and get the desired flavor.
Since not all countries have favorable conditions for coffee crops and the demand for coffee is high, Indonesia exports coffee beans all over the world. Luckily, we live in the era of quick international shipping and online sales, so you can purchase roasted beans online or from local retailers if you have a coffee store near you.
But regardless of the store or marketplace, give preference to coffee beans that have been freshly roasted. Some large retailers might be keeping the packages on the shelves for a long time, collecting dust, and losing their properties.
Conclusion
Indonesia is a lucky country. Beautiful beaches, breathtaking sunsets, coffee plantations… Coffee is black gold for Indonesia, so no wonder it’s the major business industry in this country (along with tourism).
Indonesian coffee has its own beauty and is loved by java aficionados. The drink brewed from Indonesian beans frequently has a brighter and darker flavor with a hint of earthiness. You can frequently detect the hints of chocolate, fruits, wood, and spices. The long-lasting aftertaste is characterized by bitterness, chocolate, and an earthy feel.
But when you are picking coffee beans from Indonesia, mind that the flavor and aroma will also depend on the area where the crops were grown. So, study this article and go with the option you think will work better for you.
FAQ
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Where is coffee grown in Indonesia?
Being a country with more than 17,000 islands, Indonesia, is one of the leaders in the coffee production industry. Coffee trees frequently grow in mountainous areas at high altitudes. There are four basic regions responsible for the largest amount of coffee production: Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Sulawesi. -
Why is coffee from Indonesia special?
Indonesian coffee trees grow in volcanic soil among spices and other flavorful plants that give coffee beans unique flavor and aroma properties. This coffee is known for unmistakable earthy, spicy, and chocolatey flavors with the notes of fruits and the pleasant velvet aftertaste. -
What kind of coffee comes from Indonesia Java?
Java island grows both Robusta and Arabica coffee crops, but it’s known for its Arabica coffee beans, which are considered to be used for brewing drinks by true coffee gourmets. Java coffee is wet-processed, so it has bright acidity, bright aftertaste, a heavy body, and a nutty aroma. -
US companies who buy coffee beans from Indonesia?
There are a lot of American companies that buy coffee beans directly from Indonesia and then roast the beans at their own facilities.
Renat Mamatkazin
Founder and owner of Lion Coffee and 3ChampsRoastery, 1st place winner of Ukrainian Barista Championship 2017. Interested in travelling, football and Formula-1 (besides coffee, of course).