INDONESIA DAMARKANDANG GILBAS CARBONIC MACERATION

East Java is the heaven of fine Indonesian specialty coffee growers. The geography is blessed with mountain terraces with cool climate weather and shaded trees that almost mimic the landscape of Panama coffee plantations. Argopuro Cooperative, led by Pak Muhlisin, located on the side hill of Argopuro Mountain, is one of the most the most passionate coffee growers producing the most the most experimental Indonesian coffee we have ever known.

Pushing the boundaries of coffee fermentation, Pak Muhlisin is always interested in learning and producing different types of coffee. In circa 2020, he began working on a small batch experiment of anaerobic fermentation coffee using a food-grade barrel. The result was outstanding, which unlocked new berries and deep tropical fruits that never come out of East Java coffee. Taking this step further, he begins to build a massive 2-ton stainless steel tank to produce a large batch of anaerobic coffee.

A few years later, Pak Muhlisin modified the tank to accommodate the carbonic maceration process, which uses carbon dioxide gas. He again pushed the boundary of the carbonic maceration process with adding local signature wet-hulled processing to explore new coffee potential. This carbonic wet-hulled maceration is another carbonic maceration variation, where the coffee is hulled at a high moisture content. The result of processing gives a complex grapefruit flavour driven by a sweet red wine sensation. We picked sweet blueberry candy, cranberry juice, dried strawberry, and maple syrup flavour. Carbonic maceration gives a new breath to the wet-hulled process, indirectly lifting up the potential of Indonesian specialty coffee.