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Coffee Review: Starbucks Black Apron: Sulawesi Kopi Kampung

Plainspoken Coffee. A Coffee Review for Ordinary People by Ordinary People, #1.

The new C&C tasting panel decided to cut our teeth (so to speak) on Starbucks’ newest Black Apron offering: Sulawesi Kopi Kampung. We chose this for our first test run mainly because The Star[bucks]ling got some on employee comp.

The coffee: Sourced from northern Toraja, in central Sulawesi, an area of lush forest where coffee (often typica) is usually grown under shade.  It is a semi-washed bean.

The beans: It looked like a full city roast, perhaps a bit beyond, as nearly all beans showed some oils.  Sweet Maria’s suggests this may be too dark a roast for a Sulawesi, not surprising from Starbucks.  We opened the bag and took a sniff.  We all agreed it had a distinctive smell. BirdBarista thought they smelled spicy or earthy.  ConLeche immediately said smoky, “like burning leaves.”  Nighthawk also detected a smoky smell, but none of us thought it unpleasant.

In a french press: First, we tried a french press.  The consensus was that this was a very distinctive coffee, with a lot of character.  It had good body, and we thought it was “intriguing,” as we tried to come up with good descriptors.  The flavors of coffees frequently develop as it cools, and it only took a few minutes before our generally favorable impressions began to change.  Star[bucks]ling and BirdBarista began to detect rubber notes.  Really.  The mouthfeel went from lingering and smooth to lingering and “hairy.”  BirdBarista: ”I definitely taste tires.”  Sweet Maria’s described semi-washed beans from Toraja as ”deep and brooding.”  This seemed apt.

Brewed: We may have steeped it too long or made it too strong in the french press, because we really didn’t care for it at all prepared that way. This is a mistake any average joe could make making a cup of joe, so we consider this part of the review valid.  However, the next two days we tried the Kopi Kampung as ordinary drip coffee in the office coffeemaker through an unbleached paper filter.

The results were much better.  It was much “friendlier,” while still retaining a unique character.  The Risky Kingbird liked it.  Nighthawk was quite enthusiastic.  He described it as “pungent and vigorous,” and said it really ”jumps at your palate.”  ConLeche found it hearty, but he said milk neutralized the character.  Once again, as it cooled, we found bitter notes emerging, but overall in the pot it was a much more approachable coffee.  Both Star[bucks]ling and another Starbucks barista, CoalTit (Charbucks, coal, get it?) found it quickly became flat on the palate, the spicy and smoky notes becoming more pronounced.

The verdict was that this was an okay and very distinctive coffee, but perhaps not an every day coffee (good thing, at $13 for a half-pound).  Star[bucks]ling said, ”I wouldn’t want to wake to it.”  It just develops a weird taste after a short period of time.  Surprisingly, we let it sit in the pot for 30 minutes, and it didn’t taste any more bitter after cooking all that time.

When to drink this coffee (field oriented): Mid-afternoon, during a long stakeout watching bird behavior at the nest, when you need to be jarred alert and distracted from your cramped thighs and mosquito bites.

And we’re rating this 2.5 motmots. UPDATE: Coffee Review has posted their comments.

Coffee regions

Coffee growing in Asia

Since shade certification is not available for coffee grown outside of Latin America, it can be helpful to understand coffee cultivation practices in the Old World. (Click on the Coffee Regions category for other posts in this series.)  This can help consumers choose sustainable coffees.  Certified organic is a good choice where available, although in many Asian countries, it is grown organically by default because small farmers cannot afford chemicals and fertilizers (“passive organic”) and may not be certified.

The whole concept of “shade grown” and what it means to biodiversity is different in Asia (and other Old World countries) than it is in Latin America, in particular as it relates to birds.  But as always, coffee grown in situations amongst a diverse variety of other trees and shrubs will mean a higher diversity of other organisms, and a closer match to native ecosystems. If anybody has further information on biodiversity issues in Asian coffee plantations, drop me a line at coffeehabitat AT gmail.com.  Meanwhile, let’s look at coffee growing methods in some major Asian countries.

Sumatra – Sumatra grows a lot of robusta, but the arabicas grown in the mountainous regions are some of the most distinctive in the world.  The best are from northern Sumatra, and marketed as Lintong or Mandheling. They are often grown in the shade, and/or organically. The Gayo region in Aceh Province, in the far north, tends to be small-farm holdings, also often shade or organically grown.  On the other hand,  Sumberjaya is a coffee-farming area within Lampung Province in southern Sumatra, and is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.  About 60% of this once-forested area has been converted to coffee plantations.  Sun coffee is more common in the south, and state-run plantations tend to clear forest and create sun monocultures.

Smithsonian (certifiers of Bird-Friendly coffee in Latin America) is now doing research on biodiversity in Sumatra coffee farms.  Info on the coffees from Coffee Review.

Papua New Guinea. PNG is the eastern half of this large island; the western half, Irian Jaya, is Indonesian. PNG is often considered one of the “last frontiers” of intact, biodiverse rainforest, with many endemic species. Coffee is an important export crop, and much of PNG coffee is rustically grown in the highlands, and organic beans are readily available.  Aim for these small-holding coffees if available from a specialty roaster.  Estate coffees may not be grown as sustainably.

Java – Most of Java grows robusta, after arabicas were wiped out by rust many years ago. Arabicas are grown in eastern  Java in a volcanic region where four farms originally established by the Dutch government (Kayumas, Blawan, Djampit, Pancoer) are part of the “government”  estate, which produces about 85% of Javan coffee, and which is considered superior to private estate coffee.  This volcanic valley is forested, and I have seen coffees from these estates marketed as shade grown.

Sulawesi (Celebes) – Best beans come from a mountainous region called Toraja, which is also marketed as Celebes Kalossi. Coffee in this area is frequently grown under shade.  A little background from the U-Roast-Em blog.

Timor/East Timor – Coffee is a critical crop in this very poor country, it is home to a cooperative that is one of the largest single source producers of certified organic coffee in the world (both arabicas and robustas are grown organically). Coffee grows under a tall canopy of shade on old plantations, and much is literally wild.  Recently disease has severely damaged or killed a common shade tree species in Timor, and alternatives will need to be planted; meanwhile, coffee yields are reduced. Purchasing specialty coffee from Timor supports struggling farmers after a battle for independence, and environmental restoration.

Vietnam – Vietnam is the epicenter of robusta production, funded at a furious pace by the big corporate coffee buyers, which helped create the “coffee crisis” (more background on the coffee crisis here, with many links). Forests are cleared for these sun coffee monocultures. More than 182,000 acres of forest have been cleared in Dac Lac province alone; water shortages and soil erosion have been problems in coffee-growing areas.

A small percentage of the crop is arabica, and there is some effort to increase that percentage.  It’s difficult to recommend Vietnam coffees if one is concerned about biodiversity, considering that forest may still be cleared for arabica coffee start-up plantations. It’s a tough call, because encouraging sustainable practices in this country facing difficult times could be beneficial.

India – Indian coffees are often grown on terraced mountainsides. Indian arabicas (about half the crop) are known as “plantation coffee,” while the robustas are “parchment coffee.” Most is grown in the Karnataka (Mysore) region, but Kerala and Tamil Nadu (Madras) are other main regions.  Most of India’s shade coffee comes from Karnataka, but the majority of India’s arabicas are shade grown.  Article on Indian eco-friendly coffee growing from INeedCoffee here and some reviews of Indian coffees from Coffee Review here.

One interesting type of coffee from India should be mentioned. Monsooned coffees are green beans left exposed to monsoon rains in open warehouses.  The beans turn tan colored, the acidity is reduced, and the beans are sweeter, according to the hype.  For the full story, read “Daddy’s socks or fancy cheese” at Coffee Review.

Coffee reviews

Meet the C&C tasting panel

I’ve done a few reviews here at C&C, but admit that I have a pretty untrained palate.  So my reviews have none of the sophistication and elegant adjectives found on major coffee review sites.  On the other hand, I think I represent most coffee drinkers, who would also struggle attempting to describe the subtle flavors in coffee.

I do want to provide reviews of sustainable coffees.  I’d like them to be honest, yet accessible to the average coffee drinker.  So I have assembled a panel of coffee tasters, folks who really like coffee, but have no particular expertise.  We’ll review various beans, earnestly trying to incorporate some standard taste descriptors, as well as our own impressions.  I’ll link to more elaborate and advanced reviews for balance.  With any luck, we will at least be able to discern obvious flavor flaws, such as those caused by, say, toe jam*.

This panel is drawn from coworkers and friends.  We’re all professional or volunteer field biologists, naturalists, and the like. Our hours are often very early or odd, so we not only love coffee, we rely on it. Oh, and we have a weird sense of humor.  We’ll try to be serious.  Without further ado… Introducing the C&C coffee tasters:

  • Yours truly, Julie (“BirdBarista”).  I’m an ornithologist, and have evolved from a dark roast to a light roast fan. I love a sweet, classic, Latin American coffee, as well as a nice Kenyan.
  • Greg (“The Star[bucks]ling”). College student, my right-hand field assistant, and a barista at The Mermaid.
  • Mike (“Risky Kingbird”). Environmental center manager/naturalist. Home roaster, and probably the most serious coffee guy among us.
  • Fred (“Con Leche”).  Volunteer field assistant.  Earned his nickname during a recent trip in a Latin American country that was experiencing a milk shortage, therefore pissing off everybody with his persistant cafe con leche requests.
  • Rick (“Nighthawk”).  Natural areas supervisor.  More of a fan of light roasts.
  • Darrin (“Kingfisher”).  Volunteer field assistant. Resident expert on lattes, caps, and other concoctions.

We may be joined by others at times (e.g., whoever is handy).  Our first group review is coming up, so stay tuned!

Background information

Poverty and conservation, how coffee fits

The current issue (summer 2006) of the Nature Conservancy magazine has several articles on the poverty and conservation equation.  When I posted on “What is Fair Trade?” I wrote,

Worldwide, habitat destruction is the leading cause of bird population declines and loss of biodiversity. The link between poverty and environmental degradation is inescapable. Making sure that coffee farmers receive a living wage is one way to help preserve habitat — both by  encouraging sustainable coffee farming methods that produce the highest quality coffee, and by empowering farmers economically and reducing their need to exploit the environment for survival.

These points are expanded upon in the Nature Conservancy pieces. They give an example of coffee farming in the Dominican Republic:

Today, the farmers in this idyllic mountain community [Los Dajaos] in the Dominican Republic’s central highlands no longer denude the hillsides to plant beans and graze cattle. Instead, they tend organic shade coffee beneath a canopy of flowering guama trees. … After once clearing thousands of acres of habitat critical to preserving biodiversity and the island watershed, they have come to view the forest as a friend.

These articles surely help elucidate why sustainable agriculture is important to biodiversity, and it’s not hard to understand how sustainable coffee — as one of the world’s top commodities — can fit into this equation.