Indonesia – Ijen

Kevin and Kenny entered coffee from the closest perspective, as customers. Running a café taught them to understand what people are looking for in coffee. Roasting pushed them to think about the raw material. And the raw material brought them straight to Mt. Ijen. Today, they run a processing center in Botolinggo Village, built in a space that was originally meant for rice processing. Kevenka works with 500 farmers across five areas on Ijen. Cherries are collected through local collectors and brought into central processing. Kevin also completed Q Processing Level 3 in Colombia to deepen knowledge and improve their processes. They see technology as a tool, not as the goal. They invested in a color‍-‍sorting machine for cherries, which helps them accept more consistent, riper fruit without pushing farmers into impossible requirements. For the 2025 season, they also added a mechanical dryer to help finish drying in the humid conditions typical for this area.

Kevenka processes this coffee using a washed method, one of the cleanest ways to let the flavor move straight from the bean into the cup. Cherries are picked ripe and, right after they arrive in Botolinggo, they go through the first sorting, washing, and separation by density and color. Then the skin is removed and the beans ferment for about 24 hours. Fermentation helps naturally loosen the remaining mucilage from the surface of the bean. After fermentation, the coffee is thoroughly rinsed and moved to drying. Drying takes 7 to 10 days. If needed, it is finished in a mechanical dryer at temperatures below 40 °C. After that comes hulling, sorting by size, density, and color, and finally a last quality check before packing and export.

Several varieties are grown on Ijen: Komasti, Andungsari, Bourbon, and Kartika. It is a mix typical for Indonesian producing regions, where different varieties have adapted to local conditions over time. In the cup, that shows in its range, from fruity notes to tea‍-‍like character, and into softer caramel and chocolate undertones.