Flores is a small island (360 km from tip to tip) in the Indonesian archipelago around 200 nautical miles East of Bali. Flores was known as Pulau Nipa (Snake Island) before the Portuguese arrived and they renamed it Flores (Flower Island). A very long thin Mountainous land with incredibly diverse terrain, and numerous active and inactive volcanic peaks. Manggarai is a district in the more central part of the island with several high volcanic cratar mountains. The coffee is grown between 1150 and 1400 meters, which is actually quite respectable altitude for Indonesian coffee farming. This is not the first time I have cupped coffee from Flores, but it is the first time I found it so fruited and full-bodied, very "Indonesian" in cup character. The reason is because this is processed using the method peculiar to Sumatra and Sulawesi, called locally Giling Basah, or wet-hulled. Unlike other coffee origins, the wet-hull means the green coffee bean is removed from the parchment shell when the coffee is only partially dried, and the result is that cup character that many seek in Indonesian coffees: full body, lower acidity, and funky flavors from drying the coffee without the protection of the fruit or parchment layers. The dry fragrance is very sweetly fruited, ripe tropical fruit (rambutan) with a winey hint. There's also a caramelly scent, dark rye bread, and aromatic wood. The wet aroma has a syrupy sweetness, melon fruited character and articulate chocolate notes. The cup flavors have and intense, rustic, foresty character, finishing with fruity aftertaste and chocolate bittersweetness. It is surprising that the cup flavors have a more intense and bittersweet demeanor than the aromatics forecast, but it lends interest to the cup overall. The finish sweetens a bit; I get dark Italian plum and chocolate-covered raisin in the finish, with a winey, fruited effect in the long aftertaste. There's a pulpy mouthfeel, and it matches the ripe "stone fruit" character; Syrah-like, intensifying as it sits on the palate.



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