Wet-process coffees from Sumatra or Sulawesi are rare. There are other Indonesia islands (Java, Timor, Flores) and sources farther up the island arc (Papua New Guinea) that do wet-processing. But Sumatra and Sulawesi are known for the Giling Basah (Wet-hulled) process that results in the heavy body, low acid cup profile tasters associate with the region. This is an example of flavors from processing having a huge bearing on the cup flavors. Previous examples of wet-process Sumatra showed that when you lift that veil of "process flavor", there was little origin character, be it from the cultivar, the altitude, the micro-climate, or anything else, to speak of ... in other words, the coffee was incredibly boring. For those who dislike process flavors this always poses a problem; fruitiness from funky fermentation, or earthiness from the fact that, in Sulawesi and Sumatra, green coffee is dried directly on the ground/patio/tarp, with no protective shell or skin. So the question always in the back of my mind was this: are these inferior coffees that are being "flavored" by process, something we would not accept from any other origin. If we lift that veil of flavoring, would there indeed be a cup "signifying nothing." Well, to stand as clear proof that fear is unfounded, we offer a totally unconventional, fully washed (wet-process) coffee from the only long-established Estate in Sulawesi; PT Toarco Jaya. The operation is a partnership of a Japanese company and roaster. It's a unique flavor, and proves the potential of Sulawesi coffee: Strip off the overlaying process flavor, and it soars! Clean, bright, sweet; things that only come with good handling, good altitude, and good cultivar. While it may be a flavor profile one expects from Guatemala, not Sulawesi, it might also prove to those who don't like the earthy funk of Indonesia coffee that they CAN find something extraordinary from this part of the world. Toarco Estate is located in Tana Toraja and ranges from 1000 to 1250 meters, but much of their coffee comes from higher-altitude smallholder farmers they work with, upward of 1500 meters. It measures 530 hectares, but 300 is planted in coffee while the rest is preserved as native forest. The coffee is grown under a shade-tree canopy which they are restoring to nearly original condition at this writing. As I mentioned, Toarco farm also purchases coffee from surrounding smallholder farms, and provides agronomic education to these farmers to make sure the strict quality measures are met (in particular, the purchase only of fully ripe, red coffee cherry, and exacting milling and sorting standards). All the cherry is processed at the Toarco wet mill the same day it comes in from the field, using traditional wet-process methods you would find in Central America or other areas with a washed coffee tradition. While this an unusual Sulawesi cup, it still has flavors that relate to other coffees of the region.