Best Sulawesi Coffees in 2023

Sulawesi coffee

The Sulawesi Island, initially called Celebes is among the best coffee producer areas in the country of Indonesia and the world as whole. Most of the Sulawesia’s coffees come from Toraja a region to the south of the island. Mountains of sesean bisect the region. Coffee beans grown east of Sesean Mountains goes to the minaga town market while that to the goes to Sapan traditionally. Coffees from the two markets, basically the best beans, are known as Sapan-Minaga today.

Quality of Sulawesi coffees

The region produces high grown coffees which is one of the best and cleanest plus the finest Indonesian coffees. The coffees are characterized by syrupy body and light acidity. The coffee is not earthly complex. The coffee is very dense owing to the fact that it is high grown, up to 2000 meters above sea level. For this reason the coffee beans sits well to dark roasting without destroying their flavor and also can be Vienna roasted. The coffees are harvested in May to November season and is typically available in around august towards November.

Coffee growing in Sulawesi

Sulawesi is a major coffee growing region in Indonesia. The method for processing this coffee is mostly through the dry method.

Toraja coffee

The most popular coffee in Sulawesi is that grown in Toraja. The coffee is usually grown in the highlands around the island center with altitudes of about 1500 meters above mean sea level. Traditional practices are used to grow coffee and most plantations are small scale plantations owned privately.The coffee is hand picking from harvesting to sorting out. This contributes to the high quality of coffees grown in Toraja. Only the ripe and quality cherries are handpicked. This method of coffee harvesting is mostly used owing to the steep terrain in which the coffees are grown and the hap hazardous planted coffee crops which contributes to the 300 kilogram of coffee harvested per hectare. The coffees Arabica from this region have are characterized by distinct elements including the caramel aroma, full body, clean and crisp aftertaste. The Island soils and surrounding vegetation contributes partly to the awesome taste.The scarcity of the coffee annually makes it the high end quality coffees which are sought out by many globally. The coffee is most revered in japan. Supply of Toraja coffee suffers a limited supply due to the harsh conditions and farming methods. The best grades of the regions coffee are usually exported.

Coffee processing

Picking begins when the coffee cherries start turning red in color. Small scale farmers usually practice handpicking while the larger estates use strip picking machinery to harvest the coffees. Hand picking method is preferred by most people since only the wells ripen and defect free coffee berries are picked. The beans stay for about two days before undergoing further processing.To process the green coffees the cherries have to undergo further processing. Most of the Toraja coffees are processed through dry processing where the process takes numerous weeks. Dry processing involves drying the beans under the sun outdoors. The coffee is either dried by road sides on sacks or over concreted floors. The beans are usually less than five centimeters high when drying and are turned regularly to ensure maximum moisture needed achievement. Having the coffees rained on is not an option as the drying process and the quality of the coffees may be compromised.The pulp is normally removed when the outer peel of the bean start falling off. The beans are dried to about eleven percent moisture content. Machinery mulching is done to the coffees though most of them are operated manually using hands. Product of this method is usually about one third the original coffees cherry. Coffees from this method mostly are complex with sweet, heavy bodied, smooth and fine taste.

Roasting Sulawesi coffees

The whole idea of roasting is making the green beans aromatic and brown ready for grounding to produce a favorite brew. The beans are kept in motion throughout the roasting period to stop them from getting burnt. Beans not roasted enough have a nutty and pasty taste. Over roasted coffees are thin in body, industrial flavored and burnt.Since most coffee producers do not own roasting facilities in Sulawesi, they entrust the process to other roasters. The fact that you cannot compare the coffees before and after roasting to see if there are the same, the producers closely inspect the process to ensure that the beans are not exchanged with some inferior coffees. Some unethical roasters have replaced the farmers coffee with lower quality beans or mix the coffees with corn whish look similar after roasting.

Brewing the Sulawesi coffees

To achieve the best in Sulawesi coffees, absolutely two table spoons are recommended for 180 grams of water. The beans are best ground before brewing. You can also roast the coffees just before brewing to achieve the most from the coffees. Fine ground coffees taste more than roughly ground coffees. This for instance may overly extract the caffeine or the bitter taste of coffee especially when Powderly grid. The beans are recommended to be finely grid so as not to pass through the filters but not extremely ground. This is economy when at the same time it gives you most suitable flavor. Use of hot water, not boiled or lukewarm is the best method to brew the Sulawesi coffee.

Methods for brewing coffee

Coffee press- this is similar and an advancement of the tradition open pot brewing. The method consist of pouring hot water to coarse grid coffee and allow the coffee steep for about 4 good minutes. Meshed filter is then down pushed towards the pot’s bottom. This coffee is better flavored than the coffee brewed through dripping due to the reason that the filters add their own taste and remove the subtle flavors.Other methods are espresso and drip brewers. Espresso is very famous with baristas in espresso and cappuccino making for commercial / coffee shops 

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