Limited Release No. 35: Blue Moon Bali

Description

It’s no secret that we here at Kaladi love our Indonesian coffees. The diverse nature of the Indonesian Archipelago produces some of the most unique coffees in the world. Not only that, the climate along the steep mountain ranges is bathed in dense cloud cover, allowing the cherries to slowly grow and ripen resulting in some of the highest bean density of any coffee grown around the world. This bean density translates into more aromatic and lively coffee – especially when we roast them a little darker in our air-roaster. It’s like we were made for each other.

The challenge with Indonesian coffees is that they can be very inconsistent, making it difficult to commit to larger purchases. So we bide out time, waiting for a special one to come along. This Blue Moon from Bali is just such a coffee. Big, bold body; smooth lush mouthfeel with warm savory spice aromas and pipe tobacco.

Bali Blue Moon is named after the hallmark bluish hue of the bean produced from the wet-hulling process called Giling Basah in the Indonesian language. The bulk of Bali’s coffee production comes from small family-owned farms where each producer uses a few acres to cultivate coffee along with citrus trees in the volcanic soils of Mount Agung’s Kintamani highlands. They carefully sort their harvested cherries before depulping and fermenting overnight with their own micro-mills. Then the coffee is washed and laid out on patios to shed the excess water from the coffee parchment. Next the coffee takes a detour from the conventional path of processing in other origins, wherein, the coffee parchment is removed while the coffee still has a high moisture content. This wet-hulling process or Giling Basah leaves the coffee bean exposed while drying on patios to a moisture percentage acceptable for export and gives the beans their distinct bluish color.

Balinese producers continue to maintain a traditional rural lifestyle organized around a Subak Abian, which is a reference to the ecologically sustainable irrigation systems developed more than 1,000 years ago by Hindu priests who practice Tri Hita Karana (the three sources of prosperity), a philosophy focused on the harmonization between the environment, humans and God. These traditions are followed in coffee cultivation, which means pesticides and synthetic fertilizers are never used.

In recent years, local producer groups have begun to partner with regional exporters like Indokom to establish organic and Rainforest Alliance certifications, which harmonize with their traditional principles of conserving forest, soil, and water resources. Indokom also collaborates with producers to overcoming logistical challenges like rugged roads and lack of infrastructure. Indokom provides logistics and milling facilities, which improves traceability and quality control throughout the post-harvest process, as well as, the ability to swiftly bring the coffee to the international market, ensuring greater producer earnings from direct trade relationships.