sulawesi
Toraja   Grade 1   Lot No. 08 A

Sulawesi (formerly Celebes) is a large and irregularly-shaped island between Borneo and New Guinea.  Toraja is the name of a region, and a people living in the mountainous area of the southern part of the island.  They are famous for their colorful wood carvings and enormous peaked-roof traditional houses. 

Dutch traders brought coffee to the island in the 1600s, but production in the Toraja region had all but died out until recently.  The heirloom variety that was still growing wild there was rejuvenated and put into cultivation.  The crop is small, and cannot increase much, since land suitable for coffee-growing is limited.  As elsewhere in Indonesia, both arabicas and robustas are produced.  The arabica coffee is harvested in March and June, and shipped from the port of Ujung Pandang.  The beans are a distinctive deep bluish green color and matte luster.

Personal Appraisal: True Toraja character: supple and graceful flavors of milk chocolate, dried leaves and dark earth.  Full body, soft, mild acidity; imbued with purity and limpid finesse.  I’d like another cup.