May 2023 - A Cup of Java ...Literally!

May 2023’s Coffee Origin
Indonesia Java Jampit Estate
Fully Washed & Sun Dried

Have You Ever Order a "Cup of Java",
Then Thought to Yourself, Why Did I Just Call Coffee Java?
Why do some people call tissue Kleenex or inline skates Rollerblades?
Known as a Generic Descriptor or Generalization, popular items/brands can make their way into the public consciousness, becoming the label for an entire product category.  It can be a case of first to market, historical market share or overly successful marketing. With Java, it is likely a combination of factors intertwined with a long history and tradition of great coffee.

Coffee plants were introduced to the Indonesian Island of Java in the 1600's and exported by the Dutch East India Company starting in the early 1700's. Java likely referred to the geographical origin at first, but through trading, language differences and possibly enthusiastic salesmanship, evolved to refer to coffee generically. 

What Does Java Have to do With Mocha Java?
When people order coffee they will often refer to a process (an espresso for example), a coffee based drink (such as a Frappuccino), an Origin (any of the Go Cup Yourself selections for instance) or in this case a blend (did someone say Dark Night).  Mocha Java is a blend of two Origins that compliment each other, Yemen Mocha and Indonesian Java. This past December, we Cupped the "Mocha" element of an authentic Mocha Java.  This month we are going to experience the flavours of the Java component. 

INDONESIA JAVA JAMPIT ESTATE
Region: Ijen Plateau, Eastern Java
Varietals: Typica
Growing Elevation: 3600-5200+ feet
Harvest: May through September
Process: Fully Washed & Patio Dried
Flavour Profile and Notes: GO CUP YOURSELF and find out!

This Month's Coffee Selection
The Java Jampit Estate is located in Eastern Java in the Ijen Plateau. The Ijen Plateau is an ancient crater nested between huge volcanic peaks, probably best known for its highly acidic Ijen Crater Lake. 

Java's coffee quality was world renowned and sought after until in the mid-late1800's coffee leaf rust (a devastating fungus) spread through the low lying farms destroyed much of the Arabica plants on the Island. Many coffee plants were replaced with resistant species such Robusta and Liberica which produce commodity grade crops.

In 1900 Jampit Estate was established at a high altitude ideally suited for Arabica plants. Jampit is one of the remaining producers that still exports specialty grade arabica coffee from Java. Their coffee is fully washed, creating a clean cup with low acidity and above average body representative of the Earthy Indonesian Origins we have tried.

Roaster’s Notes:
This month we stayed on the lighter side of a light to medium roast. As we've discussed in the past, Indonesian Origins often show heavy sheen/oil even in a medium roast. We wanted to make sure you had the opportunity to taste the coffee and not the roast.

This Java Origin roasted smoothly and predictably. To shake things up, we used Dark City's 80+ year old sample roaster. Each roast took between 12 and 14 minutes (depending on the drum). That means we roasted 4 pounds at a time each in a separate drum over a direct flame and then blended the batches together. If you notice some slight variation in the bean colour, it was a result of using only time, visual and auditory ques to complete the roasts. The result is truly fire roasted, artisanal coffee that translates into a balanced and fulfilling cup. It was also way more fun (albeit time consuming) to use this technique.

The light-medium roast of this Java should offer you a balanced, full bodied cup, with low acidity and earthy tones. Cupping-wise, you may find pepper followed by …wait a minute, if you want cupping notes Go Cup Yourself!

Once you have finished Cupping, click on the “EXPERT TASTED” tab for our tasting notes. Can’t wait to compare notes.

As always, we'd love to hear from you. Better yet, tell the world what you think. If you've been enjoying the Go Cup Yourself experience, please take a moment to review us on Facebook, Google, Yelp, Reddit, a bathroom stall door or anywhere you get your reviews.