Echwan East Java
Situated in Bondowoso, an area within East Java, are a collection of wonderful coffee farms that are led by
Mr. Echwan just outside of the Dawuhan Village. Initially, Echwan started off as a salesman in Surabaya, the
capital of East Java. In 2012, however, he was offered a plot of farmland near Mt. Ijen, filled with coffee
trees. He took on the challenge and has proved to be extremely successful.
- Farm Echwan
- Varietal Cobra, Lini S288, Lini S795, USDA
- Process Honey
- Altitude 1,100 to 1,200 meters above sea level
- Town / City Dawuhan Village
- Region Bondowoso, East Java
- Owner Mr. Echwan
- Tasting Notes Fig, sweet, apricot
- Farm Size 50 – 75 hectares in total / 1 – 3 hectares
Indonesia has been exporting coffee since 1711, when the Dutch East India Company sent its first shipment from Java to Europe. The crop was profitable for many exporters and importers: less so for the country’s producers. In 1960, the novel ‘Max Havelaar: Or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company’ was published, outlining the abuses endorsed by the Colonial Dutch system. The novel transformed the labour system and even provided inspiration for the first Fair Trade label.
Indonesia’s production was originally nearly 100% Arabica until, in the 1870s, coffee leaf rust decimated production. Farmers slowly replaced Arabica with robusta, and today, although Indonesia is a significant coffee producing country – the fifth largest in the world behind Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, and Vietnam – only around 25% of production is Arabica.