The Javanese can thank the Dutch colonizers of the island during the 17th century for their coffee cultivating practices. It is now so widely exported globally that the term ‘Java’ is actually slang for ‘coffee’ in the U.S.A. A cup of Java then, is known for its sweet, strong flavour and is usually served black.

The Dutch built and left solid foundations for coffee growing behind them on Java. To this day coffee grown on the island is grown on large estates built by the Dutch. Java coffee is primarily Arabica, with some amounts of robusta grown as well. The estates are situated at an altitude of 1,400 metres or more, making for excellent coffee harvesting conditions. The ripe berries are then wet-processed.

Java is well-known for coffee for more than one reason. Firstly, Java beans make up half the component of the famous Java Mocha blend, which combines Java and Yemen coffee. Secondly, Java coffee growers quite often age their coffee beans using a traditional process that relies on the monsoon rains for its success. The result is a incredibly strong yet less acidic coffee aroma, highly sought-after .Thirdly, Java is home to the world renowned kopi luwak. This variety comes about via a most unusual practice which uses coffee cherries that have been passed through, incredibly undigested, by Asian palm civets that have been fed ripe coffee cherries. Needless to say, this variety is the most expensive in the world.


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