Indonesia
Blue Batak
Terroir Best Lot
QUALITY SCORE: 87.00
Cup Notes
Aromatic Herbs / Malt / Maple Syrup / Grapefruit / Cranberry
Suggested for espresso and filter
when we roast
We freshly roast to order all coffees on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (excluding national holidays), and ship the same day! Cut-off time is 11:59pm (UTC+1) of the day before the roast day. *We only ship whole beans*
Details
- Quality Score
- 87.00
- Series
- Terroir Best Lot
- Producer
- Several small farmers
- Country
- Indonesia
- Terroir
- Sumatra (Lintong)
- Altitude
- 1300 - 1650 masl
- Process
- Wet hulled (Giling Basah)
- Arabica cultivar
- Typica, Catimor
- Picked in
- August 2023
- Arrived in
- February 2024
- Shipped in
- Jute + GrainPro
- Roast profile by
- Rubens Gardelli
- Roasted on
- Customised solid-drum roaster
Suggested brewing recipe
To help you make the best out of your coffee, Rubens has crafted recipes for brewing this particular lot in filter.
There are two recipes: one for conical brewer (think v60) and one for flat-bottom brewer (think Kalita), however you can surely brew our coffees with any other brewing device, such as immersion brewers.
Please remember that these recipes are intended as starting points and may require further adjustments if the equipment you use is not identical to the one in the recipe; the characteristics of water used can also make a big difference in brewing.
Finally, the recipes suited specifically to Rubens’ roasting style, hence we do not guarantee that they will work as a universal reference.
There are two recipes: one for conical brewer (think v60) and one for flat-bottom brewer (think Kalita), however you can surely brew our coffees with any other brewing device, such as immersion brewers.
Please remember that these recipes are intended as starting points and may require further adjustments if the equipment you use is not identical to the one in the recipe; the characteristics of water used can also make a big difference in brewing.
Finally, the recipes suited specifically to Rubens’ roasting style, hence we do not guarantee that they will work as a universal reference.
Have fun brewing!
V60 STYLE
- Coffee:
- 17g
- Grind:
- Comandante 45 clicks (medium)
- Water:
- 250g (40tds) at 94 Celsius
- Filter:
- Light Roast T-92, Cafec
- Time:
- 2:45
- Brew strenght:
- 1,30 tds
FLATBED
- Coffee:
- 17g
- Grind:
- Comandante 45 clicks (medium)
- Water:
- 250g (40tds) at 94 Celsius
- Filter:
- Stagg [X], Fellow
- Time:
- 2:20
- Brew strenght:
- 1,25 tds
THE STORY BEHIND
One of Rubens' favourite terroir is back, and it tastes just like what he was looking for!
Blue Batak was one of the first single-origin lots that Rubens roasted back in 2009, and this unique terroir takes a special place in his heart.
Its complexity and distinct flavours make this coffee very special; the floral and herbal notes that characterise this lot are accompanied by a fruity cranberry note and a citric acidity.
Blue Batak is sourced from Lintong (officially Lintong Nihuta) at the southern tip of Lake Toba in North Sumatra. Lake Toba is the largest volcanic crater lake in the world. For decades, coffee
has been grown in this rich volcanic region by the Batak tribe, who have lived in this area since settling in the 13th century.
In total some 3500 small farmers produce 4 to 5 bags of coffee per year. Each farmer has about 500 to 1000 trees planted on 0.5-1 hectare of land. The area is located on the altitude of 1300 to 1650 meters above sea level, and most topography of its topography is flat. Soils are mainly acidic, with medium fertility and rich in organic matter. Coffee trees are mostly grown under sun with some shade of Eryantha tree at low density.
Our Blue Batak is a truly specialty coffee and the premium product from the Lintong region. From cultivation to drying, everything is done by hand, triple handpicked and packed.
THE VARIETY
TYPICA
Typica is the most famous of the Typica-descended varieties. It is a tall variety characterised, by very low production, susceptibility to the major diseases, - and good cup quality.
The Typica group, like all Arabica varieties, is thought to have originated in southwestern Ethiopia. Sometime in the 15th-16th century, it was taken to Yemen. By 1700, seeds from Yemen were being cultivated in India. In 1696 and 1699, coffee seeds were sent from the Malabar coast of India to the island of Batavia (today called Java in Indonesia). These few seeds were the ones that gave rise to what we now know as the distinct Typica variety. In 1706 a single Typica coffee plant was taken from Java to Amsterdam and given a home in the botanical gardens; from there, a plant was shared with France in 1714.
In 1719, Typica was sent from the Netherlands on colonial trade routes to Dutch Guiana (now Suriname) and then, in 1722, on to Cayenne (French Guiana), from where it was taken to the northern part of Brazil in 1727. It reached southern Brazil between 1760 and 1770. From Paris, plants were also sent to to Martinique in the West Indies in 1723. The English introduced Typica from Martinique to Jamaica in 1730. It reached Santo Domingo in 1735. From Santo Domingo, seeds were sent to Cuba in 1748. Later on, Costa Rica (1779) and El Salvador (1840) received seeds from Cuba.
In the late 18th century, the cultivation of Typica spread to the Caribbean (Cuba, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo), Mexico and Colombia, and from there across Central America - it was grown in El Salvador as early as 1740. By 1940s, the majority of coffee plantations in South and Central America were planted with Typica. Because Typica is both low-yielding and highly susceptible to major coffee diseases, it has gradually been replaced across much of the Americas, but is still widely planted in Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica, where it is called Jamaica Blue Mountain.
CATIMOR
Catimor is a controversial coffee varietal. It is a cross between Timor varietal (resistant to leaf rust, which is a big problem at the moment in Central America) and Caturra varietal. It was bred in Portugal in 1959.
It grows and produces fruit very quickly and has very high yields. It's resistant to both pests and lead rusts, and it grows well at much lower altitudes in comparison to many other commercial varietals. At the same time, it is more difficult to cultivate at very low or high altitudes.
All these facts do not sound all that bad perfect, so why is the variety problematic? The answer is in the cup quality.
Timor is genetically related to Robusta species, which perform less well in terms of cup quality.
In addition to that, Catimor has a shorter life span than other varieties because it is exceedingly predisposed to produce fruit. Some producers report severe drops in production after only 10 years of cultivation.
THE FERMENTATION PROCESS
The wet-hulled process, typical in Indonesia, is locally called Giling Basah.
Giling Basah is a term used by Indonesian coffee processors to describe the method they use to remove the hulls of Coffea Arabica.
Most small-scale farmers in Sumatra, Sulawesi, Flores and Papua use Giling Basah. Following this processing method, farmers remove the outer skin from the cherries mechanically, using locally built pulping machines, called “Luwak”. The coffee beans, still coated with mucilage, are then stored for up to a day inside plastic bags. Afterwards the mucilage is washed off and the parchment coffee is partially dried, retaining 30% to 35% of the moisture content.
The parchment coffee is then hulled in a semi-wet state, which gives the beans a unique bluish-green appearance. This method is thought to reduce acidity and increase body, rendering the classic Indonesian cup profile.
The Giling Basah process can create a "goat's foot," a split on one end, in green coffee beans. Sometimes the hulling machine partially crushes a soft bean, giving the bean a shape resembling a cloven hoof.
MORE INFO
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