The history of coffee and Indonesia is a colonial one, as it is for many other origins. It's a difficult history and a narrative we're familiar with (especially within The Netherlands). Dutch colonialists brought coffee to Indonesia (coffee which they'd stolen out of Yemen, actually), and started plantations which were home to gruelling, inhumane conditions for the Indonesian people. When the Indonesian's reclaimed their independence, local governors divided the plantations amongst the labourers - to this day, over 90% of coffee produced across the Indonesian islands is grown by small family farms.
Indonesia is situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire - this is also where the largest number of highly active volcanoes sit. Natural disasters occur every year, but there is a silver lining - or a molten lining? A glowing red hot lining? - and this is a fertile soil and naturally high farms.
*click here to buy our current coffee from this origin*
2023
Our second year of Catur coffees are here, and whilst they’ve been gone they’ve been developing their techniques and honing their skills to produce another round of funk-forward, interesting Indo’s.
Kamala means lotus in Sanskrit, and this is how Catur see these coffees, as a blooming flower. I looked into the lore of the lotus, to think about what the lotus means, and my search came up with a few things that I have decided to turn into a poem for you.
The blooming lotus sits on the water,
It symbolises purity for generations,
Beauty in the eye of the beholder,
Taste on the tongue of the sipper,
Coffee in the roastery of Friedhats,
And now Kamala Bener Meriah in a bottle in your kitchen.
If you think poems need to rhyme you’re wrong. Anyway. The Kamala Bener Meriah is a yeast fermented coffee made up of the varietals Bourbon, Ateng, and Abyssinia 3 and grown at 1300 - 1700 masl. Processed by the people at the Central Sumatera Coffee, this cup is filled with booziness and the funk we’re all expecting from Catur, but then also underscored with some tropical fruits, cacao, and speculaas (I’m sorry if you don’t know what that is - it’s a Dutch thing). 
We’re long time followers of the outputs of the Frinsa Estate. The Frinsa Edun has been a go-to coffee for anyone that’s looking for something a little (actually, quite a lot) funky. This time, we’re serving up the Frinsa Sunda. Think lactic, think cream, then you have the Sunda.
The same extended fermentation process, the same Andung Sari, Sigara Utang, Timor and Ateng varietals, just this time on the even more civilised side - so much so that it’s created a completely different profile and drinking experience.