by Nigel Ong
Indonesia is one of the world’s major coffee regions, and they are also known to produce excellent gourmet, single-origin coffee. Of these regions, Toraja, on the island of Sulawesi, is widely known for its great coffee.
What does Sulawesi Toraja coffee taste like? I decided to pick up a bag and try it myself. I will brew it several ways and sample it with popular flavorings such as sugar and milk.
This post is part of a series of posts covering Indonesian coffee. I encourage you to check out our recent posts on Java coffee.
About Sulawesi Toraja Coffee
Sulawesi is an island east of Borneo, part of the Indonesian archipelago in Southeast Asia. You may also know the island as Celebes, a name given to it by the Dutch, who used to colonize it for several hundred years.
Like other islands it colonized in the area, the Dutch treated Sulawesi as a large plantation. As coffee demands picked up steam in Europe, the Dutch also started planting coffee in Sulawesi.
Sulawesi coffee could be broken into two rough areas: the highlands and the lowlands. The lowlands plants mostly Robusta beans due to the weather. This coffee is generally processed and made into mass-consumption coffee, such as instant coffee.
The highlands, however, are known to produce gourmet, premium-grade Arabica coffee. Most high-grade Sulawesi coffee is produced in the Tana Toraja regency on the island’s southeastern side.
There are two major types of Sulawesi premium coffee:
Sulawesi Toraja: Toraja coffee is grown in the Tana Toraja highlands, around the southeastern part of Sulawesi.
Sulawesi Kalossi: Kalossi coffee is produced mainly on the southern side of Tana Toraja highlands, around the region of Enrekang. Kalossi seems to be less known to gourmet drinkers compared to Toraja coffee.
How Does Sulawesi Toraja Coffee Taste?
First Impression
I picked up some local gourmet coffee on my recent trip to Indonesia. One of them is a bag of Sulawesi Toraja single-origin Arabica beans. Sakha, a local Indonesian roastery carrying many single-origin coffees, roasted the beans.
The coffee was medium-roasted and came to me as whole beans. The packaging could barely keep the coffee bean’s aroma, as I could smell the coffee even with the seals intact.
Once I opened the bag, I could pick up the aroma of chocolate, a milky one. There is also some malt-like sweetness. The whole package smells decadent, and I am confident this will be an excellent cup of coffee.
The beans were slightly larger, unlike the Java coffee that I reviewed. The beans were also not roasted too dark and retained a degree of lightness in color. I placed the beans side by side with other coffee for you to compare.
As you can see, the Toraja coffee’s color is about the same as the Starbucks Blonde Espresso roast, which is a ‘Light’ roast by Starbucks’ standard. Perhaps this bag of Toraja coffee could be considered a blonde roast in the US.
I will brew coffee in three ways for brewing: French pour, pour over, and espresso. I will explain my reasons below as well.
French Press
French press is a popular coffee brew that makes a fully flavored coffee. This is because it keeps all the oils and fine particles in the coffee.
I usually use my Bodum Caffettiera French press to make my French press brew, although you can always use your French press of choice. If you prefer a cheaper option. Check out IKEA’s Upphetta French press.
The coffee looks lighter in color compared to regular medium roasts. On the first sip, I immediately noticed how soft and easy the coffee was. The coffee has little smoke and does not have a harsh taste.
Instead, I taste a combination of malt-like sweetness, with a bit of fresh bread-like flavor. I would actually consider this a light roast, to be honest.
As I sipped the coffee, I also picked up some chocolate-like notes. The coffee also has a medium finish, lingering sweetness on my tongue. This is a very good cup of coffee, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Pour Over With Filter Paper
My next brewing method is pour over with filter paper. This method best simulates the regular coffee brewer most of us have at home.
Plus, the filter paper helps to filter away coffee particles and some coffee oils, allowing me to enjoy a ‘cleaner’ version of the coffee. This should also help me sample the flavors of the coffee better. I use the following gear:
As expected, the pour-over coffee tastes lighter and less ‘dirty’ than the French press brew. It is less bitter and becomes even crispier. This may be because the filter paper removed some coffee oils and particles.
The coffee retains its rich, satisfying taste and flavor. The chocolate flavor shows through clearly here, as well as the malty, milky notes in the coffee.
As I sip, I think the milky sweetness also turned slightly like fresh bread-like. This starchy sweetness reminds me of the sweetness I taste when I have some fresh bread melt on my tongue.
Espresso
This Sulawesi Toraja is a medium roast, generally not the kind of coffee you make espresso with. However, I think I can sample the coffee flavors better by concentrating on the coffee drink.
I grabbed my Wacaco Minipresso GR and pulled a shot. The coffee ground is coarse, so I first ground it to a finer consistency.
The result is a surprisingly fragrant and fresh espresso. Since it is not roasted dark, the crema is a little pale, with the color closer to latte foam. The aroma is light, and there is little smoke, but I smell chocolate and a bit of citrus.
The espresso concentrates the flavor of the roast, which helps me to sample the drink better. In espresso form, the coffee has a stronger taste of cocoa bitterness, especially on the crema.
However, I am not a fan of how the coffee becomes a little too acidic; perhaps the espresso coffee concentrates too much of the fruity notes, turning the drink sour.
What Flavorings Work Best With Sulawesi Toraja Coffee?
Coffee can be enjoyed in many ways, not just in black. Many also enjoy their coffee with sugar, milk, ice, and more. I thought I’d also try the Sulawesi Toraja coffee with these flavorings and see how they fare.
Sweeteners
I use two types of sweeteners here to sample my Sulawesi Toraja coffee. One is regular, the other artificial.
I brewed two cups of French press coffee and put two teaspoons of brown sugar into my first cup. For my second cup, I added two drops of Equal artificial sweetener. The sweetening agent behind Equal is Aspartame, a type of artificial sweetener.
As a start, I do not think you need any sweetener with the Sulawesi Toraja coffee. This is a soft, crisp, and comforting cup of coffee. In fact, the coffee even has a slight sweetness from the starchy, bread-like flavor.
The sugar made my cup of Sulawesi Toraja a little shinier and silkier. The sugar accentuated the chocolate note, making it stand out more in my cup. The Equal sweetener tasted about the same, minus the shine on the coffee’s appearance.
If I had to choose between the two, I’d go with sugar. The reason? The sweetness is more natural.
My coffee with Equal sweetener inside has a long, sweet finish, a bit too long for my liking. It kind of makes the whole coffee experience a bit unnatural.
Milk And Creamer
Aside from sweetness, many also enjoy their coffee’s fat and creamy taste. Cow’s milk and coffee creamer are two major ways people add these flavors to their coffee.
Again, I brewed two fresh cups of Sulawesi Toraja coffee. I added a shot (about 1 oz or 30 ml) of whole, fresh, UHT cow’s milk for the first cup.
I added two teaspoons of Coffee Mate non-dairy creamer to the second cup. Coffee Mate is made from palm oil, making it good for lactose-intolerant people.
With milk, the taste is as I expected. The slight sweetness from the lactose feels natural to my palate, and I think it further accentuates the chocolate and maltiness of this coffee.
The creaminess from the milk also blends well with the coffee without overpowering it. This is likely because the coffee does not have to compete with the smoke. The milk definitely jives well without feeling too artificial.
As for the creamer, I think it also slightly sweetened the coffee, although not as much as milk. The flavors complemented the coffee quite well and should satisfy many. However, the sweetness in my cup of creamed coffee feels a little less natural.
If I have to choose between the two, I’ll again go natural and pick milk. In fact, I think my second most favorite way to drink Sulawesi Toraja coffee is with milk.
Ice
Finally, since iced coffee is extremely popular these days, I wonder how my cup of Sulawesi Toraja would taste chilled. I added half a cup of coffee into a glass filled with ice.
I brewed the coffee more concentrated since it will melt some ice and become slightly diluted. I stir things in to ensure the whole coffee is chilled before taking my sips.
To me, the coffee tastes alright with ice. The coffee lacks smoke and bitterness initially, and ice does not seem to alter that. The coffee’s chocolate and malty note remains.
However, I am slightly troubled by the acidity of the coffee iced. I think the coffee suffers from the same issue as the espresso version when iced.
Sulawesi Toraja Coffee vs Java Coffee
Since I have a bag of Java coffee lying around, I thought I’d compare both. I brewed coffee from both roasts and sipped them side by side.
I would say the Java coffee would be more of a comfortable coffee, with chocolate and malty notes as the base. It is an easy-to-sip coffee you would enjoy on a lazy weekend morning.
Sulawesi Toraja coffee has more flavor inside the beans and has more edge in taste. I can detect more taste notes inside the Toraja coffee. Between the two, I may reserve the Toraja coffee for weekday afternoons when I feel a little sophisticated with my coffee.
Sulawesi Toraja Coffee vs. Popular Medium Roast Blends
As usual, I thought I’d compare the flavor of my Sulawesi Toraja coffee with other popular medium blends in my collection. I made coffee out of these blends and sipped them side by side with my Sulawesi Toraja coffee:
- Starbucks Breakfast Blend
- Folgers 1850 Pioneer Roast
- Dunkin Original Blend
- McCafe Premium Roast
- Lavazza Qualita Oro
I would gladly place my Sulawesi Toraja coffee on top of all these blends. My cup of Toraja coffee has more complexity in flavor and simply gives me much more satisfaction.
However, these blends are not bad at all. It is just that these blends are created to be ‘balanced’ in taste, which means it would not have many flavors that stand out and give the coffee character.
Sulawesi Toraja Coffee vs Regular Coffee
I picked up a cup of regular Americano from a 7-Eleven. I drank the coffee side by side with my Sulawesi Toraja coffee.
The idea here is to compare it against regular coffee. I think the 7-Eleven coffee represents the regular coffee you can get from gas stations or convenience stores.
This goes without saying, but my cup of Sulawesi Toraja tastes much better. There is no fight about it. It has a soft, mild, malty flavor that satisfies me much more.
Compared to that, my cup of 7-Eleven coffee tastes a bit flat. It’s also a bit watery, perhaps a signal of under-brewing or too much water.
Where Can You Get Sulawesi Toraja Coffee?
Suppose you are interested in sampling some Sulawesi Toraja coffee. In this case, you are in luck, as you can easily find them. Many roasters offer Sulawesi Toraja coffee, such as Buckman and Toraja Mountain. If you are looking for a decaf version, roasters such as Pipers offer it. There is also an option to buy green, unroasted Sulawesi Toraja coffee beans.