Food & Clubs

Toraja Coffee presents distinctive taste and flavorMore than just a chit-chat staple, Toraja coffee also promises a unique and alluring taste sensation. Toraja, commonly known as Celebes Kalossi, and hugely popular internationally, is a distinctive coffee with a characteristically low acid content.

Toraja is a member of the family of Arabica coffees and shares aprofile with Sumatran coffees, having similar distinctly earthy and forest flavors. The coffee’s aroma is overwhelming, a noticeable characteristic when opening a package of Toraja. It has a distinctly bitter taste, different from any other coffee. Some types of coffee leave a bitter aftertaste on the palate but Toraja’s bitter taste vanishes in seconds.

Tana Toraja is a mountainous district in South Sulawesi. It's situated 300 kilometers from Makassar, the provincial capital. While not as famous as Toraja, the district also has considerable natural resources. One of it is the manufacture of quality coffee. Toraja coffee is mostly grown on plantations owned by residents on the mountain slopes. Like the 'Rambu Solo' - funeral ceremonies that often invite the attendance of domestic and foreign tourists - the cultivation and processing of Toraja coffee has followed a well-guarded, age-old tradition. And the Toraja people populating the surrounding mountain slopes have preserved thissuperior coffee growing and harvesting tradition for hundreds of years.

The traditional processing method is to roast the coffee until it's blackened and cooked. The coffee is “fried” until it turns black, eliminating the acidic character of the coffee, utilizing a specific process adopted by a Japanese businessman.

Going International

Before its claim to fame, Toraja coffee went through a long and arduous process. The Dutch colonial government of the time was aware that it had a "treasure trove" in its backyard with this coffee. They appropriated a coffee plantation covering 300 acres and named it Kalosi Celebes Coffee, but their venture did not go smoothly. When the Japanese arrived in Indonesia, and after Japan’s annexation of Indonesia during the Second World War, the coffee was introduced to Japan.

In 1973, Vice President Hisashi Ohki, Director of the Japanese Kimura Coffee Company, came to Indonesia on a visit. Following his trip, he studied the Ballokan Inland in Tana Toraja, a coffee plantation area part of theformer Dutch heritage.He believed that the Toraja coffee industry can rebound in the international community if the infrastructure in the area is properly addressed, especially in cooperation with the community. In the early stages, Ohki marked the cultivation of 1,000 hectares of coffee plantations in Pedamaran and 500 acres in Bollokan.

In Rantepao, Toraja coffee is processed in a simple wayIn 1976, PT Jaya Toarcowas formed, a joint venture between Japan and Indonesia, based in Ujung Pandang, the capital of South Sulawesi. Toarco is an abbreviation of Toraja Arabica Coffee. With the establishment of two state enterprises, the seedbed for planting 100 acres of seed began.The quality of Indonesian coffee was carefully monitored and improved upon, including the setting up and processing of the beans, even using a computer to control the “frying” process. Locals were recruited for this project. Two years later, Toarco Toraja coffee began to be marketed in Japan. Sales exceeded expectations and its fame began to take hold outside of Japan.

In 1984, the Government of Indonesia requested Toarco to submit samples of coffee beans to be used as a benchmark standard by other coffee producers throughout the country. This became an important threshold in improving the quality of Indonesia’s coffee industry.

Prior to this, Toarco was only made for Japanese consumption, and Toraja coffee was not following a standardized quality. Then, in 1995, the coffee began its distribution in the homeland, utilizing the same quality of raw materials used for the Toarco Toraja coffee sold in Japan, albeit with a slight difference. A longer “frying” process was introduced to better cater to the tastes of Indonesians.

Now, thanks to the introduction of a fixed standard, good quality Toraja coffee is easy to find almost everywhere quality coffees are sold. Moreover, local governments are developing 1200 acres of land for the development of organic coffee in the Sesean and Rindingallo District in North Toraja. In other areas, such as Enrekang and Latimojong Mountains, similar efforts are also underway. Toraja coffee’s greatness is finally reaching the discerning cafes around the world. [sbh] [rs]