A new single origin coffee from Indonesia that coffee lovers will surely enjoy!
About Indonesia
Coffee was introduced into Indonesia by the Dutch in the 1600’s, becoming the world’s leading supplier. The industry initially developed growing Arabica coffee in large estate’s, however was totally devastated by a leaf rust disease. It was a century ago that Robusta was introduced to Indonesia and is the majority (90%) of Indonesia’s coffee production., however still producing Arabica coffee (in a much lesser capacity).
Indonesia’s coffee is grown by small-holder farmers (about one hectare of less), using traditional processing techniques that add a layer of complexity not found in other specialty coffees. There are as many as 20 varieties of arabica coffee being grown in Indonesia, and fall into six main categories; Typica, Hibrido de Timor (HDT), Linie S, Ethiopian lines, Caturra cultivars, and Catimor lines. The cultivation of these varieties can be found in the Indonesian regions of Sumatra, Mandheling, Lintong and Gayo, and the islands Sulawesi, Toraja, Kalosi, Mamasa, Gowa, Java, Bali, Flores and Papua New Guinea.
Over the past 200 years, the names “Java” and “Sumatra” have become virtually synonymous with flavourful coffee. Connoisseurs of specialty coffee also know the names Bali, Lintong, Toraja, Kalosi, Gayo, and Mandheling. Beyond these well known regions, coffee from new areas, such as Wamena and Moanemani in Papua wait to be discovered.
About Indonesia Sumatra Aulia Kahpi C.O.E. Wet-Hulled
Indonesia has a long history of producing Arabica coffee and is the third-largest Arabica producing country in the world. Despite the long history, Alliance for Coffee Excellence has not to this point held a Cup of Excellence program there. The nation’s diverse island landscapes, unique terroir, and variations of producing methods have attracted buyers of high-quality coffees for decades. This rich diversity of growing conditions proves to be challenging but also a promising new origin to hold the Cup of Excellence. The Cup of Excellence program has a well-known reputation for bringing recognition to coffee producers and the fruits of their labour, through rigorous national and international judging processes, while also putting their coffees in front of buyers willing to pay premiums for proven-high-quality coffees.
This is the pilot program of C.O.E. in Sumatra, Indonesia. An international jury of coffee professionals from China, Australia, Sumatra, Colombia, The Netherlands, Australia, the United States, Singapore, and South Korea, included in the jury MTC’s Daniel Shewmaker. With a program like this, we can start to see the untapped potentials of Sumatra coffees and judging from experiences of C.O.E. in other origins, we will see the cup quality and premiums paid back to producers getting better each year.
This coffee is from Rakyat, Bebesen, Aceh Tengah and produced organically. This coffee has round and syrupy body with Lemon, Ginger acidity to balance, Walnut, Ginseng, Mint aroma and it tastes like Toffee, Apricot, Jujube.
What is COE?
Cup of Excellence is the most prestigious competition and auction for high quality coffees. The level of scrutiny that Cup of Excellence coffees undergo is unmatched anywhere in the specialty coffee industry. Each year, thousands of coffees are submitted for consideration, with winning coffees sold in global online auctions at premium prices, with the vast majority of auction proceeds going to the farmers.
The Cup of Excellence competition has pioneered integrity and transparency in the coffee industry, ensuring the value of winning coffees. Each sample entering the competition process is assigned a number known only to the auditor for each competition, and each jury member cups the coffee blind. In addition, each lot is documented through the entire process so that winning coffees are traceable to the farm and exact micro-lot.
Since 1999, the Cup of Excellence (COE) program has set the standard for the increased premiums that farmers have been able to receive for their exemplary coffees. It continues to build a much more transparent infrastructure and gives farmers the tools needed to improve the economic model of their farms. COE raises funds for coffee farmers in coffee growing countries incentivizing and motivating farmers who know there can be a recognition and financial reward for their hard work and effort.
Cup of Excellence® Competition Process
The competition is rigorous, with cupping evaluations conducted over a three-stage process by industry experts: first by a National Jury of about a dozen qualified jurors from the origin country, and then by an International Jury, composed of approximately 20-25 experienced jurors from around the world. A competition with 300 entries yields an average of 9,000 analyzed cups, with each “Top 10” coffee being cupped at least 120 times. This process ensures elite top-quality consistent coffees enter the COE auction. Learn more about the COE competition process.
History of COE
Cup of Excellence program was born in 1999 at the end of a global project designed to help farmers receive more money for their high-quality coffee. The original team that put together the first competition and auction included Marcelo Vieira- Chairman and one of the founders of BSCA, Silvio Leite- quality consultant and still head judge for COE, Susie Spindler- long-time Executive Director of ACE, Hidetaka Hayashi of Hayashi Coffee Company in Japan, George Howell of George Howell Coffee company and Don Holly working with the Specialty Coffee Association of America.
Not only has BSCA been a critical supporter through the years but helped fund the development of the non-profit USA based Alliance for Coffee Excellence in 2002 to manage the growing Cup of Excellence program. Marcelo Vieria took on ACE’s first chairmanship and Susie Spindler agreed to grow the fledgling organization and lead its development. Since then there have been several chairman including Stephen Hurst (Mercanta Coffee Hunters- UK), Becky McKinnon (retired from Timothy’s-Canada) Roberto Bendaña (formerly with Specialty Coffee Association of Nicaragua), Andreas Hertzberg (formerly with Solberg and Hansen-Norway), Kentaro Maruyama (Maruyama Coffee- Japan) and Geoff Watts of Intelligentisa-USA) The present chairman is Will Young of Campos Coffee- Australia/USA) Susie Spindler managed the growth of ACE and COE until 2014, then returned in 2016. Darrin Daniel took the helm of ACE as it Executive Director in early 2017.
For all its known impact and its international recognition, the development of COE and especially its transparency to the farmers had huge push back and challenges in funding. Critical early support by life time members and higher quality roasters set the foundation for the expansion of Cup of Excellence into multiple coffee producing countries. Presently Eleven (11) coffee producing nations rely on Cup of Excellence to discover and reward their top coffee farmers and help develop long term marketplace relationships so critical to sustainable economic development. Known affectionately as the “Olympics of Coffee” hundreds of coffee companies around the globe trust the Cup of Excellence program to uncover incredible coffees created by worthy and unknown farmers and thousands of farmers have had their lives changed by winning.
More recently ACE moved its headquarters to Portland Oregon and built a fully certified lab to explore sensory training and the on-going development of quality standards.