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Very approachable bittersweetness, with identifiable hints of origin characteristics like brown rice syrup, palm sugar, herbal tarragon, and some very subtle fruits. City+ to Full City+. Good for espresso.
This lot of Nusantara decaf shows the complex notes of herbal and earth found in wet hulled coffee, with more-than convincing chocolate roast flavors and a moderate sweetness for decaf coffee. I think the fact that it's 100% wet hulled coffee really boosted body in this decaf blend, which wound up being a real boon to espresso use too. The fragrance and aroma have a molasses bread sweetness, with notes of carob chips, herbal accents, and hint of pine oil. I cupped this next to a few other decafs and was surprised by the approachable bittersweetness, even at City+. Medium roasts have sweet notes of brown rice syrup and palm sugar, faint fruit hints, and accents of aromatic peat and herbal tarragon notes that add an earthy impression to the profile. All of these are aspects we expect in non-decaf wet hulled coffee, so it's very nice to taste the origin character post-decaffeination! This has "decaf espresso" written all over it. Chocolatey low tones and creamy body are uncompromising when taken straight, and the bittersweet bass notes will certainly stand up to milk too.
"Nusantara" is an old Javanese term that means the "outer islands", in reference to part of the Indonesian archipelago. While it was originally a bit more limited in which islands were included, it is now commonly used to refer to the entire chain of Indonesian islands. We are using this name for a blend of Indonesian coffees we sourced, reserving small quantities of each for a custom Swiss Water decaf. This lot of Nusantara includes wet hulled coffee from the islands of Timor Leste, a typical body/bittersweet blend component that comes through loud and clear in decaf! In addition, we've added a really interesting "honey labu" processed Sumatran coffee, a hybrid honey-wet hulled processing technic that we started seeing in Aceh a few years back. Both coffees were grown around 1500 meters above sea level. The honey labu coffees we've purchased have tasted more in line with sweet, and sometimes fruited, honey process coffees, rather than herbal, earthy wet hulled. Together, they construct a chocolate-laden, big bodied, decaf, that is best roasted in the middle, City+ to Full City+ roast range. This is where it shows peak chocolate characteristics while retaining a nicely developed sweetness to balance the cup. Fantastic dual-use decaf that also makes a great base blending ingredient. Try 1:1 with Ethiopia Gera Goma SWP Decaf (click here for Coffee Shrub) for a Moka Java blend. This decaf was processed at the Swiss Water Decaf plant where their patented chemical-free, decaffeination process is employed using only water to remove 99.9% of the caffeine content.
Region | Aceh, Sumatra and Java Sunda |
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Processing | Wet Hulled (Giling Basah), then SWP Decaf |
Drying Method | Patio Sun-Dried |
Arrival date | January 2024 Arrival |
Lot size | 42 |
Bag size | 60 KG |
Packaging | GrainPro Liner |
Cultivar Detail | Ateng, Jember, Tim Tim |
Grade | Grade 1 |
Appearance | .8 d/300gr, 16-18 Screen - expect some broken beans from the decaf process |
Roast Recommendations | City+ to Full City+ |
Type | Farm Gate |
Recommended for Espresso | Yes |