Coffee Production in Indonesia - Coffea Canephora

Coffea Canephora

Growing areas

C. canephora is grown at lower altitudes than C. arabica. The island of Sumatra is the largest producer, with the provinces of Lampung, South Sumatra and Bengkulu accounting for 75% of C. canephora production. Smaller volumes are grown in Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali and Flores.

Production and processing

C. canephora is grown on small farms that average one hectare. The crop is harvested by stripping off all the fruit on the branch, resulting in a mix of ripe and green cherries. The unripe cherries are one reason that C. canephora coffee tastes bitter. Farmers dry the coffee cherries whole, for up to three weeks. After the drying, the dry cherries are hulled. Farmers sell the cherries to collectors, who sell them to the exporters. The exporters dry the crop to 12 to 13% moisture, and it is then sorted and graded. Exports are usually made in break bulk shipments, rather than in containers as with C. arabica.

A small portion of the crop is harvested and processed more like C. arabica. Only ripe cherries are harvested and these are processed by washing. Prices for "fully washed" C. canephora are close to C. arabica prices.

Markets

Most of Indonesia's C. canephora is used in instant coffee and other manufactured products. The domestic market consumes about 150,000 metric tons of C. canephora annually. Export coffee is sold through the New York Coffee Exchange (NYCE). The main markets are the United States, western Europe and Japan. Demand from emerging markets such as Russia, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Malaysia is increasing.

C. canephora is also an important part of traditional espresso blends, where it adds characteristic flavors and the all important crema on top of the coffee.