Many coffee drinkers in Taiwan love to drink Indonesian Traditional Dry Processed coffees, namely the Sumatra Mandheling, Lintong, Toroja, Kalosi and the like. Even many in the biggest coffee consuming country, the United States, consider those are "unique and exotic" coffees. But how many of you have really seen or got a closer contact with these coffees in their green states? I think not so many. To be a little educational for readers, and also to let more ppl know how "zero defect" coffees are made of, I hereby present this post plus the photos to show you the "TRUTH" of that EXOTIC taste.
See the photo on the upper deck....Those are the defective greens that were culled out from the Sulawesi Toraja Gr.1 on my offering list. With my strictest standard to define "defects," I rejected nearly 45% of this batch, by weight, which is a more precise way to count the defects. The unsorted weighed 1000g and the rejected weighed 430g. That's how I define the rate.
You probably think I'm crazy. 45% rejection rate is almost 2~3 times compared to most sorters' standard, let alone the non-sorters'. I am especially severe to the Indonesian greens because I always see the moldy holes smiling and that makes me faint. Besides, I don't want any "possible" defects to ruin what I chase for a clean cup. So I remove whatever are considered as "cup destroyers" in my rules. Why clean cup in the Indonesian coffees? Shouldn't they be earthy and dirty as it's always been? NOOOOO....DON'T tell me that they should be that way. Let me SHOW you that they SHOULD NOT be. The "roasted molds" from the defect beans and some other over-fermented greens ARE the direct components of what you regarded as "exotic taste." Now do you still connect that taste with yummy or Umai? I bet you don't...
Alas...ever since my first experience with green coffee beans bought from one famous US green retailer when I started my home-roasting journey, I have been shocked and frightened by the scenery I came across with the very first pack of Sumatra Mandheling Gr.1. So I've always disliked those traditional processed Indonesian coffees...too many defects to remove...and hurts my eyes....
Before I knew this, I also was the kind of person who considered the "taste" unique and funny. But after I found out where that taste came from, you know, I had no choice but stepping into the de-defect hell...never ends.
Now look at the below photo. They are the 100% clean, zero defect Sulawesi Toraja Gr.1 green coffee beans. Looks great, I know. But you should try the roasted and will agree how important hand-sorting is. That makes the hell-no cup become heavenly. That's where the magic is.
A moral by the way, ALWAYS sort your green coffees ASAP before the beetles dig more holes on the healthy greens. The longer you keep them unsorted, the more defects you will need to reject. To me, I don't want the beetles to invade into the "healthy neighborhood." You know what I mean.
