East Java Ijen Highlands - Natural

We Taste - Grape salt water taffy, watermelon, velvety Mt. Ijen towers over the world's biggest, most acidic lake. Kawah Ijen lake effervesces a bright turquoise color from volcano-infused sulphuric and hydrochloric acid and minerals. The vented nutrients do more than turn the breathtaking lake acidic; they infuse the local soils with minerals that improve soil fertility, water retention, and aeration, improving coffee harvest yields and cherry quality in East Java, one of the oldest coffee growing regions outside of Ethiopia, Yemen, and India. Smallholding farmers, often Pandalungan Madurese in heritage, live across the Ijen Highlands, growing fruit, vegetables, and tobacco as well as coffee varieties Komasti, Andungsari, Bourbon, and Kartika. Farmers exchange their fresh harvest with cherry collectors who assess quality. Once purchased and transported to the Bottolingo wet mill, all cherry deliveries are checked for sugar content using a BRIX refractometer. This informs producer Kevenka Coffee in determining the best processing method. For this lot, Kevenka founders Kenny and Kevin Soewondo dried the green coffee seeds in their fruit, known as the Natural Process. This rustic style imparts a notable fruit-forward fermentation, catalyzed by light-medium roasting to taste like muscadine grapes, salt water taffy, tropical fruit like guava, nutmeg, and cacao nibs. At a week off-roast, expect a velvety-syrupy body paired with a complex acidity, accented by citric, tartaric, and acetic elements. As the roast enters its second and third week, look for the brightness to mellow, bringing forth sweet flavors like honeyed almond, boozy brown liquor, and cacao nibs. Roast: Light-Medium - Sweetest, most flavorful brews in the 10 - 30 day range. Process: Natural Varieties: Komasti (Catimor/Bourbon hybrid), Andungsari (Catimor selection), Bourbon, Kartika (Catimor selection) - Coffee leaf rust-resistant varieties go back to the turn of the 20th century in East Java. Elevation: 1,100 - 1,500 masl Location: Ijen Highlands, Botolinggo Village, East Java Province, Indonesia Producers: Botolinggo wet mill + Driyorejo dry mill by Kevenka Coffee, founded by brothers Kenny + Kevin Soewondo Farms: Smallholding farmers surrounding Mt. Ijen Grades / Certifications: Microlot Harvest: June - Aug. 2025 Brew Guides Espresso: 1:2.2 in 28-29 sec. Filter: 1:16.4