Bali – Coffee Origin
Bali coffees are grown on the volcanic slopes of Mount Agung and are known for their smooth, clean body with notes of dark chocolate, tropical fruit, and a subtle earthiness. A refined island-grown specialty.
CUPPING NOTES: Bakers Chocolate, Orange Peel, Juniper, Molasses,
Clean
GROWER: Producers organized through Subak Abian (SA) a
traditional structure of farmer organization in upland Bali
REGION: Kintamani Highlands of Central Bali, Indonesia
ALTITUDE: 1200-1600 MASL
HARVEST: May-October
SOIL: Volcanic Loam
PROCESS: Hand-picked, Wet-hulled, Two-step Sun Dried on Raised
Beds
VARIETALS: Bourbon, (S795 & USDA 762) Typica, and Catimor
DETAILS: Bali Blue Moon is a staple 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.