Best for: Filter coffee, Espresso, Cappuc¬cino, Latte Macchiato.
JAVA
"Echter Blauer Java" - full/medium body
The Dutch began the cultivation of coffee trees on Java when it was part of the Dutch East Indian Colonies in the 17th century, and coffee has been exported globally since. A rust plague in the late 1880s killed off a lot of the plantation stocks in Sukabumi, before spreading to Central Java and parts of East Java. Today Java's old colonial era plantations provide just a fraction of the coffee grown on the island, although it is primarily the higher valued Arabica variety. Java's Arabica coffee production is centralised on the Ljen Plateau, at the eastern end of Java, at an altitude of more than 1,400 m. The coffee primarily is grown on large estates built by the Dutch in the 18th century. The five largest are Blawan, Jampit, Pancur, Kayumas and Tugosari, covering in all more than 4,000 hectares. These estates transport ripe cherries quickly to their mills after harvest. The pulp is then fermented and washed off, using the wet process. This results in coffee with good, heavy body and a sweet overall impression. At their best, they are smooth and supple and sometimes have a delicate herbal note in the aftertaste. Java coffee is also prized as one component in the traditional Mocha Java blend, which pairs coffee from Yemen and Java. Each year Vee’s is choosing one of the best harvests from one of the five estate farms. Vee’s 'Genuine Blue Java' is a deep roast, elegant and smooth, full-bodied, with herbal and peaty notes and nuances of pepper, roasted nuts and bittersweet chocolate.
Best for: Filter coffee, Espresso, Cappuccino, Latte Macchiato
SUMATRA
Lintong - full body
ISumatra, perhaps the quintessential Indonesian coffee, doesn't grow on estates or big farms. It comes from the backyards and garden plots of small landholders, who often have only a few trees. Yet, it's the elementary way they process beans by hand, using the semi-washed method that could be the secret to this coffee's unconstrained flavour and hefty, syrup-like body. Cherries are pulped on the farm with a crank-handled mill, and the seeds are washed by hand in a basket. Collectors purchase and hull the coffee while still moist and dark greyish-green, removing the parchment-like shells and allowing the beans to sun-dry only briefly before delivering them to the port of Medan. Along the way, they become fully dry in stages — acquiring their characteristic Sumatran peatiness and complexity. Because each lot might include the beans of 100 different farmers, great Sumatra relies on strong relationships and sharp tasting skills. We sample exhaustively for every lot we select, looking for the most exceptional body and sweet herbal nuances to coax out with our deep roast. The result is a gutsy, glorious coffee that brews a richly seductive cup. Vee’ s Sumatra 'Lintong' is a dark roast, full-bodied with sweet and peaty notes with pronounced overtones of cinnamon and tropical wood.
Best for: Filter coffee, Espresso, Cappuccino, Latte Macchiato
SULAWESI
Old Brown Kalosi-Toraja - full body
The island located between Borneo and New Guinea is called Celebes, in Indonesian language called Sulawesi, growing one of the most famous coffees in the world. The best coffees from Sulawesi are grown and processed in the area known as Torajaland near the city of Kalosi. The villagers here have a long history of coffee cultivation, and they remain faithful to their traditional methods – planting trees on small plots near their houses. Above the emerald terraces of rice paddies that produce the principal source of Torajans' income, trees of the old variety grow in even greener jungle. It's their cash crop, one which brings everyone together to pick and process beans as a way of supplementing the family income. We think the unique cultural heritage and time-honoured practices of this region have a lot to do with the distinctive taste of its Sulawesi Kalosi-Toraja coffee. Vee’s has been sourcing the very best lots of this rare coffee for many years. And we take an extra step, we are only using aged Sulawesi, so called Old Brown coffee. The coffee beans are matured for a couple of years under monsoon climate condition by exposing them to warm, moist air during the rainy season. As the beans age, through natural fermentation the beans are completely losing their acidity and the colour of the raw coffee is changing from green to brown, suitable for a medium to dark roast. The typical aroma is deeper, sweeter, more complex and resembles of maple syrup. Vee’s 'Old Brown Sulawesi-Kalosi' brews a full-bodied and well balanced cup, with prominent sweet and spicy notes that resembles of luxuriant forest floor, wild mushrooms, autumn leaves, moss, and tropical wood. Preferably to be drunken with a shot of fresh cream.
Best for: Filter coffee, Espresso, Cappuccino, Latte Macchiato
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
*** Organic Wild Blue Mountain *** - full/medium body
Vee's 'Organic Wild Blue Mountain' is grown on the eastern part of the second largest island of the world. Blessed with rich volcanic soils and perhaps the most ideal climate for growing coffee, the island is divided into two territories — the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya on the West and the country of Papua New Guinea, where this coffee comes from, on the East. The beans were originally imported from the famous Jamaica's Blue Mountain region in 1927. Indo-Pacific conditions proved to be immensely favourable to Jamaican coffee, producing a complete, complex cup that recalls the old Blue Mountain style. The volcanic soil of Papua New Guinea turns Jamaican Blue Mountain beans into one of the world’s best coffees. We think its broad, mellow flavours, aromatic complexity, and medium to full body make it one of the world's absolute best. Vee's 'Organic Wild Blue Mountain' combines the crisp acidity and fruity notes of Caribbean coffee with the nutty flavours of Indonesian coffee. Vee's 'Organic Wild Blue Mountain' has wonderful complex and fruity notes with nuances of nuts, mango and papaya – medium to deep roast. Best for: Filter coffee, Espresso, Cappuccino, Latte Macchiato