"Indonesia" from the Latvian roastery Rocket Bean in Riga is a filter coffee that showcases a slightly different side of Indonesian coffee. Instead of a heavy, earthy profile, it offers a clean and juicy cup with notes of a Latvian rye dessert, figs, black tea, and red apples. The coffee has a silky body and a pleasant sweetness that lingers in the aftertaste long after the last sip. The figs and dessert notes give it roundness, the red apple brings freshness, and the black tea softens the entire profile. The result is a balanced pour-over that tastes sweet and full-bodied, yet still maintains good clarity and lightness.
The coffee comes from the island of Flores, specifically from the area around the town of Ruteng in the Manggarai region. Behind this lot is the Tuang Coffee Cooperative, founded in 2014 by Andre Tuang after he returned to his native island from Jakarta. Local coffee was previously often sold as a generic commodity or blended with beans from other Indonesian regions, so Flores itself remained largely unrecognized. Tuang Coffee has gradually built a network of more than 2,500 farmers who collaborate through 17 community leaders. Coffee trees of the Yellow Caturra, Typica, and Kartika varieties grow at an altitude of around 1,500 meters in rich volcanic soil, which gives the coffee sweetness, a fuller body, and a distinctive character.
Processing is done using the washed method. Upon arrival at the station, the cherries are spread out on tarps or raised beds, where unripe and damaged fruits are sorted out by hand. They are then pulped and fermented in tanks for approximately 36 to 48 hours. After thorough washing, the parchment coffee is dried on raised beds for 7 to 10 days and turned regularly to ensure even drying. Once the correct moisture content is reached, the lot is allowed to rest, then manually sorted one last time and prepared for export. It is precisely this washed processing that gives the coffee a cleaner and juicier profile, in which notes of figs, apples, and a subtle tea-like quality really stand out.