Java Gunung Tikukur

In recognition of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, we’re highlighting the significant contributions of AANHPI communities to the coffee industry. This May, we are proud to feature our Java Gunung Tikukur — a coffee that exemplifies the dedication and craftsmanship of local producers in West Java.

Java Gunung Tikukur exceptional lot offers a bright and juicy profile, showcasing vibrant notes of green grape, sugarcane, and ripe papaya. The fruit-forward acidity is balanced by deeper undertones of toffee, chocolate, and molasses, adding a rich sweetness and lingering complexity. The double-fermentation washed process enhances clarity while layering depth into the cup, creating a clean yet indulgent experience from first sip to finish.

Named after a native turtle dove and a nearby mountain, Gunung Tikukur is grown and harvested by smallholder farmers in the Tenjolaya Ciwidey region. These producers deliver fresh cherry directly to a centralized wet mill, where it undergoes careful processing: initial floating to select only the ripest red cherries, followed by a 16-hour fermentation, and drying in solar dryers to preserve clarity and complexity in the cup.

This coffee is a tribute not only to the land and its people, but also to the vibrant heritage that continues to shape our industry.

Some of the large coffee estates created by the Dutch 175 years ago can still be found on the volcanic Ijen Plateau at the eastern tip of Java, but most coffee farmers are smallholders growing coffee on an average of 1.5 hectare, many of them among a cluster of volcanoes in West Java, where coffee cultivation first began on the island. Although disease resistant Robusta became the dominate coffee crop, West Java has seen a steady increase in Arabica production in recent years. Arabica generally grows above 1200 meters and virtually all coffee is fully washed.

Wet-hulling, or giling basah, is the traditional method used in Indonesia. And although both the name and the method are very similar to wet processing, the cup characteristics are incredibly different.

After the coffee is dried to 12 to 13% moisture content in the greenhouses, the coffee will be delivered to the warehouse in Medan. It is inspected and graded again upon arrival to ensure no errors were made during processing. The coffee is then warehoused for 2 months. Then it goes through the final grading, hand sorted, bagged and ready for export.

Wet hulling is a process devised in Sumatra and adopted throughout the region as a solution to rainy, humid conditions that make drying green coffee a challenge. Typically, farmers depulp freshly picked cherries, ferment overnight, and wash the seeds before selling to a mill or collector only partially dried. The coffee's husk (parchment) is removed at a much earlier stage than in a standard washed process, while the green seed is still soft and pliable. Great care is needed to prevent excessive damage. After milling, the coffee seeds are then finally dried until optimum moisture content is reached.

Although coffee was first planted successfully on Java around 1700, cultivation spread slowly throughout what would become the great archipelagic state of Indonesia. In fact, the green coffee of Java served as progenitor to the coffees of far off Central America and had begun its ascent to being considered, alongside Arabian Mocha, as one of the best coffees in the world, long before commercial cultivation spread to nearby islands. At the same time, it should be noted that nearly all coffee from any island in the Dutch East Indies was considered “Java” until the early 20th century, so whose to say what Java was before then.