Farm

This Indonesian coffee comes from the Northern part of Sumatra island. It is grown by the Batak people near Lake Toba.

Raja translate to English as "King"; an apt name for such a unique Indonesian coffee.. This coffee is triple-picked, meaning the beans go through quality control three times. So, you can ensure you are getting one of the highest quality Indonesian cups of coffee.

This coffee is also unique in its processing method. 'Wet-Hulling', not to be confused with 'wet-processing' is a unique processing method mainly practiced on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Sulawesi. Known as "Giling Basah" in the local language, the process seems rather complicated but has developed in this way due to local environmental and socioeconomic conditions.

Wet-Milling Process

• Small hold farmers pick their harvest and proceed to remove the skin of the coffee cherry using a hand-operated depulper.
  
• The farmer will ferment the beans overnight to aid in the removal of the next protective layer of the coffee bean, called the mucilage. The mucilage is then easily washed away with water.
• The coffee will dry for several hours before being sold to a middle man with a moisture content of roughly 50%. This differs significantly from the wet-processed coffee which will dry to a moisture content of roughly 10% before being sold to middle-men.
• The middle man will sell the coffee to a mill, which will further dry the coffee to 25% moisture content before wet-milling the coffee to remove the parchment layer.
• Wet-milling at this moisture content means the softer bean is more susceptible to cosmetic damage. But rest assured, the flavour does not suffer.
• The mill will proceed to air-dry the coffee to its final export moisture content of roughly 10%. Without the protective parchment layer the coffee dries fast, and is exposed to local yeast and bacteria which no-doubt adds to its unique flavour profile.
• The coffee is ready for export just a month after picking. Typical processing methods take 2-3 months to get beans ready for export. So with Indonesian wet-milled coffee, you are getting one of the freshest cups of coffee in the world! Now if that ain't interesting coffee trivia, I don't know what is.