Indonesia, Java Microlot- Dandy Darmawan Ijen Lestari

Dandy Darmawan, Ijen Lestari; Ijen, East Java, Indonesia; Arabica Mixed Varieties; Washed; 2026

Rambutan | Strawberry | Spices


First introduced on our coffee list: 2024
Sourced through Coffee Beyond Borders

Javais one of the islands in Indonesia. With a population of 156.9 million people, Java is the world's most populous island, home to more than half of the Indonesian population. An ancient city since the times of the Hindu empire, it now faces a quiet caffeinated awakening. One of the well known figures in this movement is Dandy Dharmawan, founder of Ijen Lestari, in the coastal town of Ijen in East Java, Indonesia. 

Dandy Darmawan was first introduced to specialty coffee in the cafes of Java during his time as a college student in Bogor by hopping from cafes to cafes all over the city. As he began to understand how to consume the coffee without sugar, he developed an interest in coffee post-harvest processes. After he graduated with a degree in Business Agriculture in 2016, he travelled around Indonesia's islands and studied at the best coffee farms. His journey started in a failed Luwak coffee business, but his determination finally brought him to open his own farm and washing station, Ijen Lestari, in his hometown Banyuwangi in East Java. 

The full name of the farm is Pengolahan Kopi Swadaya - Ijen Lestari, meaning Self-Subsistent Coffee Processing - Ijen Lestari. Lestari means sustainable. Dandy builds Ijen Lestari with a vision to empower local human resources in order to improve their social welfare, self-subsistent coffee processing, and sustainable local employment. His interest lies in post harvest coffee processing. He sets his sight on a mission to produce a consistently high cupping score coffee from year to year. His knowledge and experience in this field allows him to achieve cleaner and more transparent profiles for both the traditional coffee process and new processes.

When Cup of Excellence Indonesia started in 2021, he achieved a remarkable 4th prize. Finally in 2023 Cup of Excellence, he achieved 1st prize. One week after we launched this coffee, Dandy unfortunately passed away due to gastric problems on 16th April 2025.

This coffee is exported from Indonesia from Coffee Beyond Borders (CBB), a specialty coffee trader based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is the specialty green coffee sourcing and trading arm of Indonesia International Trading (IIT). Established in 2016, the company sources Indonesian and international green coffee for local and global buyers. Its broader mission is helping change perceptions of Indonesian coffee quality.

The mixed arabica blend involves Kartika, USDA 762 and Cobra. It is common practice for Indonesian farms to grow different varieties and process them together as if they are a single variety. One reasons is that a lot of varieties are very similar in their appearances. Secondly, this practice allows the farms to spread out the risks of each variety. Sometimes, the unique distribution of the farm's varieties decide the quality of the coffee.

Kartika is a locally selected Catuai. It is an Indonesian abbreviation for Kopi Arabika Tipe Katai, meaning Catuai arabica coffee. In a field test conducted by Portuguese Centro de Investigacao das Ferrugens do Cafeirro (Portuguese Coffee Rust Research Center) in 1987, Catuai was introduced to test its endurance to coffee leaf rust. Kartika was first grown in Indonesia in of a mass variety test conducted by the Portuguese Centro de Investigacao das Ferrugens do Cafeirro in 1987. It was initially very popular because of its high-quality flavour profile. It proves to be susceptible to coffee rust as well as other pests and diseases, despite its good coffee profiles. The rust fungus has difficulty reproducing at higher altitudes and Ijen Lesteri seems to have success in growing it.

USDA (US Department of Agriculture) had coffee plant breeding programs in the past and some were distributed to Indonesia in the 1950s. Simply called USDA, there were a few types brought to Indonesia: S731, s762 and s765. S762 is most widely planted and was part of a collection of seeds gathered by the UN Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) from the Mizan Tafari Ethiopia in the 1955. 10 plants were sent to the coffee research station in Jember, Java, and it is now widely abundant in Ijen. It has a moderate resistance to coffee leaf rust, but lacks a distinct coffee flavour. Because Mizan Tafari is near to where the Ethiopian Gesha was first found, it is sometimes referred to or mistaken as a Gesha locally.

COBRA, an abbreviation of COlombia and BRAzil, is a popular variety in East Java and Bali that was crossed from varieties from these 2 countries previously. It has moderate coffee resistance, is high yielding and produces good flavour. There is little literature on this variety.

Roast Level
We have roasted this coffee lighter than usual. Indonesia coffees tend to roast fast towards the end. When that happens, they tend to take on colour very fast, leading to a frantic evacuation of the beans causing under-roasting inside the expanded beans, and even sweating from the over-roasted surface layer. It is a delicate balance, and we roast it with a low ROR to prevent this from happening. As usual, we would like a longer afternote, so we extended the time after first crack. 


Brew Flavour
We are using the Abaca paper on a Timemore Crystal Eye dripper, at 16g @ 750 μm to 250ml of 88°C water to brew this coffee.  To contextualise the grind size, it is slightly finer than usual and is closer to the size of table salt. On a 8-day-old roast, the dry fragrance is a mix of white-flesh and red flesh tropical fruits on a floral note. The brewing brings up notes of spices and chocolate, which retreats to the backend in the cup. Rambutan forward, there is a blend of red fruits like strawberry and other white-flesh tropical fruits like longan, as well as stone-fruits like apricots. In the background, there are notes of brown spices and milk chocolates. The acids are balanced, juicy and vibrant. The coffee is almost chew-able, with medium weight and a smooth mouthfeel. As it cools, the body thickens and the fruitiness intensifies. As per our roast, the afters of this coffee is clean and lingering on its fruitiness. This is our brew recipe, with 1 bloom, 2 pours and 1 bypass:

0th sec - Add 50g of water
30th - 120th sec - Add 85g of water to 120g
130th - 170th sec - Add 130g of water to 250g
Bypass 10g

We are launching this coffee together with XBloom. On a slow grinding speed and using 3-part-pour to 225 ml, the red fruity notes are more pronounced, specifically strawberry. The mouthfeel is particularly smooth, giving a sensation that the coffee melts in your mouth. Acids are vibrant and "chewy" throughout. As the coffee cools, white flesh notes come forward. Coffee remains smooth through the afters, still balanced and pleasant. Our recipe for the Xbloom is as follows:

0th sec - Add 75g of water, at 91°C, spiral pour
30th - 100th sec - Add 75g of water, at 88°C, spiral pour
100th - 130th sec - Add 75g of water to 225g, at 88°C, straight pour

Savouring our world in a cup!
Enjoy!