A travel to Indonesia
Where the fairytale meets reality!
Arriving at Indonesia, you realize that the creatures of fairy tales may not only live in imagination. You are in a landscape full of paradise flowers, strange houses, colorful lakes on craters of volcanoes and … dragons in a breathtaking distance. At the same time, however, you are also in the fourth largest coffee country in the world.
Sulawesi. The hometown of the mythical breed of Toray
The largest island of the Indonesian Archipelago. To get from one village to the other we needed continuous flights and a lot of patience. When we met the breed of Toraja (To: Riajam people: Oresebi) we were left with our mouths open. Their homes (tongkonan) are quite special, inspired by a myth that says that the first house was built in the sky and the ancestor descended to the earth continued to build them there as well. Similarly to the houses, Toraja coffee is special, with tons of mature fruit and black chocolate.
Flores. The coffee tree decides
The secret to getting the perfect product is to … leave the tree alone. If, for example, one grows sideways, no one will correct it. They will let it go on its own. They will not prune it, let it stand up uncontrollably and pick up the fruit when it’s time. That’s how it is and all the coffee production on Flores Island. Last year, due to bad weather, they managed to get only 50% of the production. If they were more organized they could produce three times more than a good year. However, their coffee is famous!
Coffee belongs to its family and place
The whole process of producing and processing coffee is a family affair. The sale is done locally and the transfer of the fruit from the one part in the other is difficult. This makes the product expensive but does not cease to surprise with its particular features. Gentle, but with a rich body, with cocoa tones and aroma. Perhaps when you leave something in nature, the result you get may be commercially not the most interesting, but qualitatively it is excellent. To discover the best varieties you need to look for them. And this search is never ending.
In search of best grains
The coffee tree is alive and is continuously influenced by the climate, the natural environment and the way of cultivation. We will continue to search. We will reach the edge of the world. And besides the best grains we will discover people with great differences but even greater similarities. Their passion for what they do.
This passion is definitely shared!
