Indonesia Wanita Gayo

This is the first coffee lot from Indonesia that we are introducing, and it comes with so many fascinating details:

The origin and producers:

In many traditional cooperatives across Indonesia, women are often excluded from key decision-making roles and lack access to financial resources and leadership opportunities. Kokowagayo (Koperasi Kopi Wanita Gayo) was founded in 2014 in Aceh, Sumatra, to change that reality. It is the first and only women-owned and women-managed cooperative in Sumatra. Since its establishment, Kokowagayo has been a trailblazer, empowering women in coffee while producing some of the region’s most exceptional lots.

By creating an all-women cooperative, the structure ensures that women farmers lead not only in coffee production but also in cooperative management, financial planning, and community development. Beyond coffee, members diversify their livelihoods by cultivating vegetables and fruits such as avocados and oranges, as well as raising livestock and producing compost. This holistic approach strengthens financial stability while promoting environmental sustainability.

Each lot from Kokowagayo showcases the unique flavours of Gayo coffee and represents a direct investment in women’s empowerment and community resilience in Aceh.

Supporting the producers is both an honour and a joy, and we hope we are able to truly showcase their work through ours.

The processing:
Before any coffee can be roasted and consumed, it goes through a processing method that converts it from a fruit to a dry green bean. 

Giling Basah, or wet hulling, is the traditional method used in Indonesia. Don’t mistake it for washed processing. Even though the names and steps may seem similar, the methods are different, resulting in uniquely distinct cup characteristics.

Inside every coffee cherry is a bean, a layer of parchment, and a layer of mucilage (along with a few other layers). Hulling itself refers to the removal of the parchment from the bean.

There are two main reasons why wet hulling dominates in Indonesia: history and geography.

Coffee was first introduced to Indonesia by Dutch colonists in 1699, whose purpose was financial gain. From their profit-orientated perspective, every day the coffee remained on the farm was money lost. Since wet hulled coffee take several less days to dry, they were able to see returns quicker, and for less labour.

Yet even had the Dutch not taken this position, they would probably have resorted to wet hulling. Drying coffee beans in the intense humidity of the country can be a problem. In a warm climate, it takes at least 2-3 weeks to dry an average coffee. In most parts of Indonesia, where rainfall and humidity are high, it would take far longer. Bacteria would cause coffee defects long before the beans would be at a low enough moisture content to dry. Remember, coffee is usually dried in at least its parchment, which protects it from damage and promotes consistency while the bean is drying. Yet wet hulling removes the parchment so the sun and heat can directly penetrate the bean, therefore allowing it to dry 2-3 times quicker.

The variety:

In Indonesia, Tim Tim stands for Timor Timur, a region in the southern reaches of Indonesia that used to be part of the country (now East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste). 

Tim Tim, also known as Hibrido de Timor, is a natural cross between Arabica and Robusta that was first found in the early 20th century. It became popular in the 1950s because of its high resistance to coffee leaf rust and other diseases.

As it is an arabica-robusta cross, some traits of both species are present in the cup. For instance, it has a thick, bold body which is very reminiscent of robusta flavours. 

Named for an island off the coast of Madagascar, Bourbon is one of the world's most culturally and genetically important arabica varieties. Bourbon is a parent of numerous other coffee varieties, and delivers sweetness, fruit notes, and a round body in the cup.