With a bouquet of jammy cherry and Clementine up front, this coffee is smooth and balanced, with a pleasant nougat finish.

For this month’s selection, we decided on a coffee from the island of Bali, a beautiful place with a fascinating history. The southern islands of Indonesia are among the most volcanically active land regions in the world, and serve as the western boundary of the global “Ring of Fire”. The coffees from the region benefit from the mineral-rich volcanic soil that is regularly replenished by frequent eruptions. Grown by smallholder farmers in the Kintamani highlands at an elevation range of 1200-1600masl, the coffees in this lot are a blend of common cultivars that have been staple crops for many coffee farmers in Asia, such as Catimor, Typica, and Bourbon. This extensive network of smallholder producers is united through a traditional system called Subak Abian, an ecological and social philosophy based on Hindu values and unique to the island. In terms of agriculture, it establishes principles for land management, with a focus on agroforestry, and much of the coffee produced in Bali is shade-grown beneath fruit tree canopies, most commonly coconut and citrus. In Subak Abian, the core belief is that happiness comes from a balance of maintaining good relationships with the universe, fellow humans, and the environment. As such, the system works very well in uniting people with a common goal of stewardship for their community’s environment. Natural process coffee has become very common in Bali, as water scarcity oftentimes makes it difficult to produce a fully washed coffee, but the resultant complexity is excellent. It’s no secret that we love a good natural process coffee here at the roastery, but this natural process from the Kintamani Highlands of Bali is definitely not one to miss.

Region: Kintamani Highlands, Bali

Producer: Smallholder Producers

Cultivar: Catimor, Typica, Bourbon

Process: Natural

Altitude: 1200-1600 Masl

Roast Degree: Light

Importer: Royal Coffee Imports

Flavor Notes: Cherry, Clementine, Nougat