Sulawesi – Luwu

This coffee is from a small town of Seko, which is a term of endearment used by the locals to mean “best friend”, or “sibling”. Seko lies within the district of North Luwu, and nestled in the mountains with altitudes ranging from 1000 to 1600 meters above sea level. During the wet season, this area is really tricky to reach, as the new paved road doesn’t get you into the coffee area. Taking a motorcycle taxi is your best bet. Even from the nearest town it’ll run you about $60 each way, making it one of the most expensive rides in Sulawesi! The farmers in Seko sell usually sell wet parchment, or in this case, wet coffee that’s had its parchment removed (“gabah”). The wet hulled process involves removing the outer cherry and only partially drying the coffee before peeling off the parchment and drying the rest of the way. This originated in Sumatra as a means of expediting the trading process and access to cash, coffee was partially processed, traded to “collectors” (middle men), then dried the rest of the way.

This wet hulled Sulawesi coffee has all the markers of a classic Sumatran cup, with intense bittersweet bass notes giving way to herbal sweetness and earthy accents underneath. The sweetness in the dry grounds is marked by a fresh green herbal note, hints of honey, cocoa, and tobacco leaf. The wet aroma has a nice intensity about it, herbal-infused sweetness, spiced cocoa, and hints of rustic fruit. The herbaceous/spice characteristics came through in the cup too. The coffee cools off to very nice earth-toned sweetness, with accents of sorghum syrup, tobacco, and shiso leaf. I pulled some amazing single origin espresso shots- flavors of carbonized sugars pad the shot, and blend well with a tangy flavor of bittersweet cacao bar, and a subtle lemon note.