Huh? Flores?
Flores is one of the big islands in the Lesser Sunda archipelago situated in the Indian Ocean Nearby are Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi. Flores is one of the lesser Sunda Islands in the provence of East Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia. Roughly the acreage of Connecticut rolled out long and skinny from east to west. On our map, look just above the T in Timor. Thats Flores.
The island was discovered by Portuguese explorers in the early 16th century, when they landed on a small peninsula in the east and called it “Cabo de Flores” because of the incredible coral formations ringing the island.
Recently, there was the discovery of three-foot tall Homo Erectus skeletons and miniaturized elephant fossils dating back about 15,000 years. The island is also home to gigantic rats and Komodo dragons, not to mention massive saltwater crocodiles. ...Good times.
So maybe you have heard of Flores but didn't realize it.
The most significant reason you've never heard of Flores coffee before is because prior to 2005 it was awful. Prior to 2005, all the coffee in Flores was dry-processed, blended and sold to exporters where quality wasn't a big part of the equation. The cherries were simply dried on the ground and the farmers had little financial incentive to do more than that. In 2005, however, the Indonesia Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute (the ICCRI) spearheaded by a man named Sirup, began processing the coffee using the fully-washed method.
Wet Hulling (Gishing Basha in Indonesian) brings up more body and sweetness to the coffee, making it less wild than full naturals. Unfortunately, conditions are very dry in Flores during the harvest season. Under normal climate conditions the coffee harvesting period begins in May or early June. Harvesting is usually wrapped up by September or early October. Logistics is a big issue when it comes to developing coffee quality in a region, especially in Flores. There's nature, the terroir, and there's nurture; what do you do with the basic elements to make a winning product? On one hand Giling Basah makes all the difference, but, the primary fresh water source for the island during this driest time of year comes only from a natural spring and has to be taken to the trees by small pipes or by truck. The discovery is that it makes a huge difference in the quality of the coffee, but the question becomes whether its economically sustainable. So here we are on the leading edge. A whole new specialty coffee being developed and we get to witness the transformation from a commodity coffee to possibly a recognized origin. The main cultivars on the island planted a hundred and fifty years back thanks to the Dutch. ( man, those guys were everywhere...) are Caturra, Catuai and in the 1950's Linie S795 was widely planted and is generally dominant now. "Linie" is Dutch for line, and S is short for "selection." S795 can be traced back through India to the original coffee trees first found in Ethiopia. While S795 grows well in Flores the farmers there are underwhelmed by the small size of the beans and limited yield. (but remember, they've been all about quantity until very recently.) 150 years of naturally occurring hybrids plus another half century of cross breeding on the island makes for a completely unique crop when treated as a Specialty Coffee.
The total area under coffee cultivation in Ngada Distirct is around 6000 hectares, of which 90% is Arabica. Arabica coffee is grown at altitudes ranging from 1,200 m to 1.600 m above sea level. Fertilizer inputs have almost never been applied by the farmers, other than organic manure and composting.
Bajawa is both an ethnic group and a small town. The Bajawa ethnic group mainly inhabits the eastern part of the central highlands, in Ngada District, on the slopes of the Inerie volcano (2,245 m). The total population of this area is around 100,000 people, most of whom are Catholic due to Portuguese, and later Dutch, colonization.
This year, 5 more farmer groups (Ateriji, Papataki, Papawiu, Mezamogo, and Wongawali) have decided to undertake wet-processing and all seven groups are now certified organic through the Control Union Certification (USDA-NOP and EU2092/91).
Giling Basah processing begins by removing the outer skin of the cherries via pulping machine in the afternoon on the day they are delivered. The pulped coffee, still covered in sticky mucilage, is then put into fermentation tanks for 36 hours and is a critical new step, After washing, the clean parchment is fully sun-dried on raised tables Final hand sorting is typically done by the exporter. This washing and sorting is where education in business becomes a major factor in developing Flores as a destination in Specialty Coffee. As more of the crops are being treated with care its possible that the price for the commodity coffee crop could begin to rise- and that's where the farmers must be shown that continuing the work can bring greater long term rewards. Its a 180 degree shift in mindset from producing as much as possible to producing the highest quality possible.
The size and shape of the beans really do have a similarity to North African coffees, like an Yrgecheffe, but the color is the distinctly deeper sepia tone that you know from other Indonesian coffees. The beans are smooth, shiny, and polished looking with no trace at all of insect or other damage. While the beans are all overt he place in size and shape, including peaberries, there are zero broken, chipped or damaged beans visible in a small sample.
In the cup you could almost mistake it for a medium bodied Costa Rica/Guatemala of some sort. Its smooth with a whisper of a light/rich wood tone. The deeper qualities you see in a classic Sumatra don't really begin to become present before you reach a darker roast. At first roasting, as the water comes of there's a distinct Indonesian smell that fades as roasting continues, then returns as a nice sharpness as the roast continues past second crack. The dry grounds have an elusive sweet chocolate/ brownie batter aroma, again the thought of a sweet Guatemala comes up sans flowers, but doesn't come through in the end as chocolate so much as a presence of rich wood.
If you ever wished your Centrals were more Sumatran, or your Sumatra was more Central. This is it.
