We're a little late to the party with Indonesian coffee, but in the last few years more and more amazing producers have been doing great things in that area of the world... so we've been exploring some of the exceptionally good coffees they have to offer. This is our second time buying this particular coffee, and what an absolute banger. It's so sweet and fruity we're making the tasting notes Tropical Skittles.
This coffee comes from Rakyat Farm owned by Aulia Kahpi in Bebesen, Sumatra. Kahpi has a great reputation for quality and now works with 15 neighbouring smallholder farmers (each with an average of 0.5-2.5 hectares) to process larger volume lots and secure better prices for their premium coffee. Kahpi inherited his coffee farm from his parents, but his journey hasn't been an easy one. His success and growing network of farmers are all the result of his entrepreneurial spirit, hard work, and collaborative openness. Already an experienced processor, he attended Lucia Solis' first Indonesian fermentation camps in June '23 along with some other exciting coffee producers, including Indian specialty visionary Pranoy Thipaiah whose coffees we released earlier this year.
Kahpi named this coffee 'Sesongot' after the distinctive caterpillars that can be found hanging from coffee trees on his farm. The sting of a sesongot is more painful than a wasp and can be life-threatening, so they are infamous among coffee farmers in the region as something to look out for when picking. We don't own any pictures of the spiky bad boys, but this post has some great photos if you'd like to learn more.
Aulia Kahpi uses the name Sesongot for his experimental and special microlots, a nod to the place they come from and the unique beauty of both coffee and caterpillar. You can check out one of his other Sesongot coffees, a special 'winey' processed lot, here.
This coffee is a blend of varietals: Abyssinia, Ateng, Caturra, Gayo, Timtim, and Typica, all grown on Rakyat Farm and surrounding farms at altitudes between 1,300 and 1,600 meters above sea level. We are excited about this coffee and our other Indonesian releases, it is a region we've somewhat overlooked in the past and one we're keen to learn more about!
Elevation: 1300-1600 Meters Above Sea Level
Varietal: Mainly Ateng and Gayo
Cup score: 89
Price paid per kg: £10.70
Process: Anaerobic natural process
