Indonesian coffee cultivation got its start with Dutch political leaders shipping seedlings from Ethiopia and Yemen to the country’s capital, Jakarta, on the island of Java in the 1600s. The Dutch had an established trading company in the country and thus had a strong political presence. Indonesia was the first place, outside of Arabia and Ethiopia, where coffee was able to be cultivated on a large scale.
By the mid-1870s growing areas were expanded to Sumatra, Bali, Sulawesi (formally known as Celebes), and Timor. The first crops in Sulawesi were planted around 1850, but by the late 1800s coffee rust wiped out most of Indonesia’s Arabica Typica crop. In the 1950s, soon after Indonesia gained independence, Dutch-owned plantations were nationalized and are now managed as state-owned plantations. Today, only 5% of Sulawesi’s coffee is grown by larger estates, with the rest being grown by small family-owned farms.
Grown in one of Indonesia’s highest elevations, the Sulawesi Toraja is procured by micro mills less than 3 acres in size. The sub-region of Tana Toraja produces only about 60,000 bags per harvest. Toraja is situated in a mountainous area that's lush in flora and fauna, with iron-rich soil and a cool, comfortable climate at about 1,800 masl. Its climate and rich, volcanic soil make up a perfect environment for cultivating coffee beans.
The Toraja people who grow the coffee are an indigenous group with a traditional village lifestyle that includes houses resembling boats and animist rituals called “aluk to dolo”, which means “the way of the ancestors”. This community of farmers meticulously sorts, de-pulps, and ferments the coffee cherries overnight. This process is known as “Giling Basah” (wet-hulling), and it is a unique process that leaves the parchment and mucilage on the bean during fermentation so the coffee will possess an earthy flavor. The next day, the cherries are washed, stripped, and then patio-dried evenly in the sun for 2-3 days.
Sulawesi coffees are clean and sound in the cup. They generally display nutty and warm spice notes, like cinnamon or cardamom. Hints of black pepper are sometimes found. Their sweetness, as with most Indonesian coffees, is closely related to the body of the coffee. The after taste coats the palate on the finish and is smooth and soft. Sapan Minanga has long been recognized as one of the premium coffees grown on the island of Sulawesi.