The Barn Coffee Roasters: Toarco Jaya, Sulawesi
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Rating: 93/100 Roast: Medium Body: Creamy, weighted Acidity: Medium low Notes: Black cherry, clove, basil Aroma: Cinnamon, strawberry |
Sulawesi coffee is a family enterprise.
This week's coffee has a history that is just as rich as its unique flavor profile. Sourced by the Toarco Company, a Japan-based Indonesian coffee contractor, this coffee shows off the best of the South Pacific coffee island of Sulawesi. The coffee is grown in a region called Toraja, primarily monopolized by Toarco's 7,000 budgeted farmers. Coffee was first introduced to Sulawesi and Toraja by the Japanese Empire back in the early 19th century. Since then, it has grown into a select coffee crop, prized for a rare brightness and cleanness in every crop.
A local coffee plantation in Tana Toraja.
The farmers of Toraja have used Japanese rice driers to cultivate their washed process coffee, a method that has been successful in the region for over a century. Indone sian wet hulling processes dictates that coffees are rice- dried between 35% and 40% moisture, which tends to diminish acidity and bring out the earthy, spicy, somewhat herbal notes often found in coffees of the region. The farms are located at altitutes from 1400m to around 2000m. These beans belong to a unique Torajan Typica varietal called S-795 Hybrid, which known for its particular resistance to coffee leaf rust.
Copyright: Ital Coffee
This coffee is also a great representative of the variability of flavor, style, aroma, acidity, body, and notes not only from country to country, but also from region to region as well as from cooperative to cooperative. This may well be an Indonesian coffee, but its underlying uniqueness and pleasant undertones are undoubtedly its own. The first flavor I checked was a distinct cherry, backed with a medium acidity. This fruitiness complemented the coffee's strawberry aromas beautifully, enhancing overall balance and highlighting complexity. Finishing the cup, you'll notice an interesting twist of spices; I noticed that they tend to vary between cardamom, cinnamon, clove, basil, and nutmeg from brew to brew. The coffee consistently presented a medium acidity, creamy mouthfeel with a weighted body, cherry flavors, strawberry-like aromas, and variable finishing under tones of basil and cardamom. In order to preserve the coffee's luscious mouthfeel and rounded body, I brewed with a French press; I allowed a steeping time of around three minutes in order to avoid over-extracting.
Thanks for reading this week's second specialty coffee review. I hope you enjoyed the historical perspective highlighted in this article; it took us a fair bit of research to put together a full picture of this Toarco Jaya. We have now finished off our segment covering the Barn Coffee Roasters based in Berlin; please go check out their website and roastery if you haven't already! Stay tuned for next week; we've got some great blends coming up from Death Wish Coffee, Blue Bottle Coffee, and Bisetti Coffee Roasters!
Thanks for reading this week's second specialty coffee review. I hope you enjoyed the historical perspective highlighted in this article; it took us a fair bit of research to put together a full picture of this Toarco Jaya. We have now finished off our segment covering the Barn Coffee Roasters based in Berlin; please go check out their website and roastery if you haven't already! Stay tuned for next week; we've got some great blends coming up from Death Wish Coffee, Blue Bottle Coffee, and Bisetti Coffee Roasters!
