Indonesia - Kerinci Barokah Espresso

Brew Guide:

Best Brewed with: Filter/Espresso

Medium-Light Roaster Influence: We're balancing the need to not go too hot and long at the end of the roast with anoxic naturals with the desire to tame the acidity and increase the body for a syrupy espresso. A longer roast means we can taste the influence of the profile more in the cup, but all the better for a classic style of espresso

Best Rested: 3 weeks 

For Filter: We recommend a ratio of 65g/L and 94°C water

For Espresso: 18g in, 42g out, 30-35s for a classic style of espresso. Can also pull 18g / 50g / 20-25s turbos

We’re tasting: Slightly boozy aromas - like macerated strawberry or cherry liqueur. In the cup it's blueberry, watermelon and mixed tropical fruits (Guava is prominent, alongside hints of mango & pineapple). There's the syrupy body & sweetness of pomegranate molasses, shifting to date syrup and a defined note of grape jam as it cools, with hints ruby grapefruit. Complex, heavy & sweet.
In milk: Black Forest Gâteaux 

Traceability

The Story

Founded in 2017 with 22 farmers at the foot of Mount Kerinci in Sumatra, the Koperasi Koerintji Barokah Bersama now represents over 320 coffee farmers, exporting to markets across three continents.  Having placed sixth at the 2021 Indonesia Cup of Excellence with an anoxic honey coffee, the cooperative has fundamentally reimagined Indonesian coffee processing, moving beyond the traditional wet-hulled method through value adding higher intervention processing and controlled drying, all without losing a focus on farmer impact and environmental conservation.

The co-op chairman Triyono, a former vegetable and chicken farmer, built a complete coffee processing facility in his backyard within six months of partnering with Rikolto, a Belgian agricultural development NGO. Under his leadership, the cooperative won first place at the Indonesian Speciality Coffee Contest in 2017, followed by second place in 2018.  From the founding members, membership expanded to over 380 members organised into 24 farmer groups, including four women's groups. Each member pays a one-time fee and receives technical support, shade tree seedlings, and guaranteed buyers. Individual farms range from half a hectare to two and a half hectares.

The cooperative operates nine "UPH" (Unit Pengolahan Hasil) collection and processing stations across three sub-districts. Each station functions as a washing station where cherries are purchased and processed before moving to the central mill. An agricultural technician supervises all stations to ensure standardised procedures, which has been a crucial part to maintaining the quality standards from this relatively large and spread out co-op. The central facility includes a dry mill, roasting facility with cupping laboratory, and raised drying beds protected by dome structures. Triyono conducts daily cupping tests for quality control, whilst Production Head Edi Komarudin manages operations across all processing units.

Wet-hulling emerged in Indonesia as a practical response to the region's high humidity, which makes traditional drying methods unreliable. The process produces coffee quickly in challenging conditions - removing the protective parchment layer whilst the coffee has only been partially dried, with fermentation continuing throughout the transportation process. This process is fairly uncontrolled - oft producing the low acidity, heavy body, and earthy profiles that have long defined Indonesian coffee,. but frequently being beset by defects such as mould. Koerintji Barokah has systematically moved away from this approach, investing in infrastructure for controlled drying that not only enables more traditional processes (such as washed process or naturals) as well as more advanced techniques.

By taking control of the drying, the co-op can execute higher value capture processing techniques, and it's allowed the to offer differentiated profiles. It's been especially interesting to see the paradigm shift of processing that the growth of speciality has had in Indonesia - it's an area that has a very distinct set of local cultivars (although often catimor/resilient hybrids) that can produce utterly unique cups when not hidden behind the wet-hulled profile.

The cooperative grows primarily two hybrid Arabica varieties developed by Indonesia's Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute. Sigarar Utang, a cross between Caturra and HdT831 (a Timor hybrid) is nicknamed "quickly repay debt" - as it's highly productive. Andung Sari, bred from Caturra and HdT1343, is a dwarf variety yielding with high yields, but also known for great cup quality - although it's susceptible to leaf rust. Additional varieties cultivated include S-795, Ateng (a Catimor selection), and some old-stock Typica.

The cooperative's market position centres on their partnership with Sucafina Speciality. This relationship, brokered by Rikolto in 2020, operates through Sucafina's Farmgate Initiative where coffee purchases contribute to community development projects - such  as the distribution of avocado tree seedlings alongside lamtoro, banana, and eucalyptus as shade trees. These trees regulate temperature, reduce evaporation, prevent soil erosion, and protect against wind damage.
The cooperative participates in a "Payment for Ecosystem Services" programme where Sucafina donates funds for tree planting for each bag purchased. Rikolto trained farmers to produce compost from coffee cherry husks, promoting soil health whilst reducing costs for chemical fertilisers. Members also intercrop coffee with vegetables and potatoes that provide substantial parts of family diets.

It's Kerinci Barokah that first changed our perceptions on what Indonesian coffee could represent - since then, there's been a boom in incredible coffees coming from this region, growing hand in hand with a strong local Speciality scene and internal market. We're stoked to keep Indonesian coffees in the line-up - arriving through the latter half of the year, these lots continue to surprise and delight us.