WEST JAVA, INDONESIA: FRINSA ESTATE

INDONESIA - FRINSA ESTATE

The highlands around Bandung, the capital city of the West Java Province, are home to Frinsa Estate. The first coffee farm and processing center I had the privilege to visit is a wonderful operation headed by Wildan Mustofa. The coffee is shade grown under a canopy of mixed trees. Leguminous trees are planted to fix nitrogen within the soil and help support a healthy soil structure. With a focus on quality, Wildan and his team produce some great coffees!

Coffee details

• Variety:Ateng super, Bor Bor, Sigararutang

• Altitude:1400–1700 masl

• Processing: Washed, this is a departure from the typical Indonesian coffee process of Giling Basah, or "wet hulling". More on this below.

Wildan in the shaded coffee nursery beside the processing center.

Above:Among the coffee trees

Below:Wildan stands above the field, explaning the importance of growing under shade and the different varietals they have in the field.

Above:Many hands make light work, the coffee on this conveyor is coming from the optical sorting machine for a final hand sort.
Below: Quality control and assurance are part of the process all the way along.

Frinsa Estate processing center