Sulawesi Bolokan Sulotco Jaya Abadi Natural

When the Dutch first brought coffee to Indonesia it was cultivated on large estates that would later become government owned after independence. The estate that occupied this land previously was built before 1928 by H.J. Stock Van Dykk, and abandoned sometime during the advent of Indonesian independence (1945-1949).

The Rantekarua Estate, located in the Bittuang district of Tana Toraja Regency, South Sulawesi province on the island of Sulawesi, remained mostly abandoned until Samuel Karundeng, the current Director at the mill, found the old Dutch house and coffee trees at the site in 1986. Subsequently, the government gave cultivation rights to PT Sulotco Jaya Abadi in 1987.  

Since that time, the 3000-acre estate has undergone substantial renovation and become a beacon of innovation particularly in matters of land conservation. More than 500 acres have been converted into natural forest and coffee cultivation is managed with organic inputs. Manure from more than 2000 sheep grazing on the estate, and provided to local smallholders, is used as a major source of organic fertilizer.

Sulotco has become the site of testing for various coffee variety trials, where standout cultivars will be chosen for introduction around the estate and provided to local farmers through their nursery system. What was once overgrown and abandoned is now one of the region’s most notable coffee production facilities.  

Contrary to popular belief, the original processing method for coffee throughout Indonesia, including Sulawesi, was the fully washed processing introduced by the Dutch. This makes wet hulling a uniquely Indonesian processing method, and dry processing a very new exploration for coffee producers across this archipelagic nation.  

During the harvest, cherries are picked and transported to the Sulotco processing facility in the Bolokan valley. There, the cherries are floated for selection and washed. After washing, the coffee is moved to covered, raised beds and dried in successively thicker piles as the drying process proceeds. After a period of 20 days or more the internal moisture reaches 11 percent, a moisture percentage acceptable for export. The coffee is then rested as dried pods in containers for a few weeks more before hulling in order to ensure proper distribution of moisture throughout the mass of coffee. The resulting coffee is hulled and packaged for export.

At Sulotco, all drying is done on raised beds with covers, ensuring consistent and reliable drying practices, something incredibly important for a fruit-dried coffee like this one.   With Indonesian coffees, half the battle is overcoming logistical challenges like rugged roads and unpredictable torrents of rain. The integrated process from the estate to export provides a tremendous advantage in managing quality and traceability. Sulotco’s management team is also to be credited for running a tight ship and moving coffee through what can be an incredibly demanding supply chain. In particular, Pak Immanuel for Production, Pak Darlan and Agnes Briliana for Quality Control, and Yenny Tanri for Export Management, should all be recognized for their efforts!  These efforts have paid off, as well; Sulotco placed #12 in the Inaugural Indonesia Cup of Excellence 2021 with their washed coffee.