by Nigel Ong
Indonesia is known to be one of the major coffee regions. Aside from producing mass-consumption coffee, it produces some gourmet, high-end Arabica beans. Indonesia has many coffee regions, each with its special flavors.
In this post, I will review Java coffee, one of the major coffee regions. I picked up a bag of single-origin Java coffee and brewed the coffee three ways. I also try it with flavorings and compare it with popular medium blends in the US.
This post is part of a series of posts exploring and reviewing Indonesian coffee, focusing on its major growing regions.
Where Is Java Coffee Grown?
Java coffee may not be as well known as other Indonesian regions such as Bali or Sumatra. This may be because it does not produce much coffee. However, it can be just as good.
In fact, the Dutch colonial power planted its first coffee seed here in Java, outside Batavia (now Jakarta). The Dutch also developed the world’s first coffee blend, the Mocha Java, by mixing Yemen Mokha beans and Java coffee.
Java coffee is produced in the Java island of Indonesia, where major Indonesian cities such as Jakarta, Bandung, and Surabaya are located. It is also the most populous island in the country.
You can roughly divide Java coffee into two major types: highland and lowland. Lowland regions tend to grow Robusta beans, usually harvested and made into flavorings, instant coffee, etc.
The highlands focus on Arabica beans, made into gourmet, single-origin coffee. We will focus on the Arabica Java beans in this post.
These Java highland coffee can be broken into several major zones:
West Java: Western Java coffee farms tend to congregate around the Sunda highlands and the regions around Mount Ciparay. Popular varieties include Pangalengan (Preangay), Garut, and Ciwidey. Coffee here is usually bright, with notes of malts, nuts, and chocolate.
Central Java: Central Java highlands also have many Arabica coffee farms around the Dieng Plateau and regions such as Banjarnegara, Wonosobo, or Temanggung. Central Java coffee is known for its mild acidity and balanced flavor.
East Java: Eastern Java coffee is usually grown around Mount Ijen, where the volcanic soil helps to produce beautiful Arabica coffee. Coffee from East Java usually has a full body, mild acidity, and a range of flavor notes. These include chocolate and herbs.
How Does Java Coffee Taste?
I picked up some single-origin Indonesian coffee during my recent trip there, including Java coffee. My particular bag of Java coffee comes from Sakha Coffee, a local, independent roaster based in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The coffee is a medium roast and in whole beans. The notes mention that the coffee carries brown sugar, malt, and chocolate notes with a sweet caramel aftertaste. Sounds very delicious, so let’s try it out.
First Impression
The coffee bag could barely contain the aroma of the beans. I have the coffee bag in a box, and after several hours, when I opened the box, the box actually smelled of coffee.
I can pick up the aroma of chocolate and a bit of sweetness. It has a pleasant, welcoming smell, telling you that this coffee will be good.
The beans are on the smaller side and not as even in size. The beans look quite brown and may pass as a light or blonde roast. I placed the beans side-by-side with other roasts to confirm this.
My Java coffee beans actually have a lighter color when compared to the Starbucks Blonde Espresso roast, which is a blonde roast. It is, of course, way lighter than the Pike Place or the Major Dickason blend.
For brewing, I will use three major brewing styles:
French Press: This brewing style makes a murky, full-flavored coffee with floating particles. This should allow me to sample the coffee in all its ‘glory.’ I expect full flavor and strong flavor with this coffee.
Pour Over With Filter Paper: This method produces a ‘cleaner’ version of the coffee without too much oil and particles floating about. This should help me to sample more of the subtle notes.
Espresso: Espresso may be more common with darker roasts, but I found it generally able to concentrate flavors very well, especially at the crema. Brewing an espresso should help me better appreciate the flavors in this Java coffee.
French Press
I relied on my Bodum Caffettiera French press for this brewing style. I used the 1:12 coffee-to-water ratio recommended by Illy Coffee, similar to my other coffee reviews.
I added 15 grams of coffee and 180ml of hot water at around 185°F (about 85°C). After stirring the coffee ground, I let the concoction brew for 4 minutes before pouring myself a cup.
The coffee has a pleasing and intense aroma, filling my nostrils when I drink the coffee. The color is also very light, brownish, and lighter than most coffee I have brewed.
Flavor-wise, I detected almost no smoke and were filled with crisp flavors, similar to fresh bread. There is a strong chocolate presence, as well as sweetness, that reminds me of a malt drink.
The coffee also has a great finish. After I swallow, my palate retains the taste, with the malty sweetness becoming lighter, like sugarcane.
This pleasant, easy-to-drink coffee is perfect for breakfast or lazy weekend mornings. I actually went for more cheeky sips to savor it.
Pour Over With Filter Coffee
My pour-over brewing method is based on what Starbucks recommends. I relied on a 1:18 coffee to hot water ratio here. I took my time with the pouring, taking about 5 minutes to complete it.
My coffee came out cleaner, with fewer sediments and particles floating about. It also has a more translucent look and a lighter shade of brown. I am starting to wonder if Sakha has a lighter roasting scale or if American roasters have a heavier one.
Flavor-wise, I tasted more malty sweetness, complemented by a chocolatey sweetness. The caramel sweetness also came out here, especially at the finish.
This is an even nicer cup of coffee than the French press one.
Espresso
I wanted to see if Java coffee tastes as good as an espresso. Not so much about wanting it to taste like a regular espresso, but just to see how much of its flavor I could concentrate in a small cup. I grabbed my Wacaco Minipresso GR and pulled a shot.
The result is a great espresso with rich, thick crema. The crema is light, malty, and bread-like, without the charred, smoky smell most dark roast espresso has.
The espresso is extremely nice to sip. It does not have the punch typical espresso drinkers want. Instead, I get acidic notes on the crema and stronger chocolate notes on the coffee. The taste reminds me a lot of Starbucks’ Blonde Espresso.
What Flavorings Work Well With Java Coffee?
Sweeteners
I decided to try my Java coffee with two types of sweeteners. I brewed two cups of pour-over coffee and added two teaspoons of brown sugar to the first cup.
For the second cup, I added two drops of Equal artificial sweetener. Equal’s main sweetener is Aspartame, which has a slightly different sweetness profile than regular sugar.
For both cups, I do not think you really need any sweeteners. This medium-roast Java coffee has a mild flavor with a natural malty sweetness. There is also little to no smoke and woody notes to cover up with sweeteners.
In fact, I think adding sweeteners here wastes the coffee’s flavors.
However, I would choose the sugared version if I need to choose between the two. It just tastes more natural. The one with Equal has a long, sweet finish, a bit too long for my liking. It kind of makes the coffee taste a little unnatural.
Milk
This coffee should taste amazing with milk since it’s so soft. I added a single shot (about 1 oz or 30ml) into my Java coffee. I used whole, fresh, UHT cow’s milk here.
The milk makes the coffee turn into a murky brownish goodness. When I sipped it in, the coffee felt silkier in my mouth and gilded around my tongue smoothly.
The milk helps to complement the malty chocolate notes in the coffee, making it even smoother and easier to sip. If you don’t enjoy your black coffee, I recommend trying Java coffee with milk, without sugar.
However, do take note that this is a soft coffee. If you add too much milk, you risk drowning out the coffee.
Creamer
I added two teaspoons of Coffee Mate to my cup of Java coffee. Coffee Mate is a non-dairy creamer made of palm oil, good for those with lactose intolerance.
The coffee tastes richer and creamier. The fat content in the creamer also made the coffee silkier and slightly thicker. The coffee becomes nicer to sip and softer to the palate.
Like milk, the creamy taste slightly accentuates the malt and chocolate notes. I do, however, think the richness lacks the depth milk has. This creamer cup is not as satisfying to me as the milk version.
Java Coffee vs. Regular Medium Blends
Since this Java coffee of mine is a medium roast, I decided to test its flavors with other medium blends in my collection. I brewed coffee from the following blends and drank them side by side:
- Starbucks Breakfast Blend
- Folgers 1850 Pioneer Roast
- McCafe Premium Roast
- Dunkin Original Blend
- Peet’s Big Bang Roast
From this list, I have to place my Java coffee first. Java coffee has this lightness and malty sweetness that no other roasts in this list carry.
The other roasts have their own niceness, too, but they have more smoke than the Java coffee, which removes their lightness. Some of these coffees are not as nice with milk as my Java coffee.
Java Coffee vs. Regular Brewed Coffee
Finally, I purchased a regular coffee and drank it alongside my Java coffee. I picked up a regular Americano from 7-Eleven. This coffee should represent all the coffees from gas stations or convenience stores well.
It goes without saying here, but the Java coffee wins.
My Java coffee has much more flavor, depth, and aroma. The regular coffee is not even close. It is smoother and has more depth in flavor and taste. The coffee leaves me much more satisfied, too.
The regular coffee tastes flat, and the bitterness lacks character. The coffee also has a bit of water taste, suggesting underbrewing. It could also be too much water and not enough coffee.
Where Can You Get Java Coffee?
Unfortunately, the roaster that made my Java coffee sells only within Indonesia. It has an online store, but it does not take credit cards. This means you may be unable to purchase the exact Java coffee here.However, there are quite some alternatives online you can check out. American roasters such as Mystic Monk offer Java coffee you can purchase and try. If you are based in the UK, check out Java coffee from Phumphrey’s.