"Specialty coffee is defined most commonly by the taste and aroma, but it also depends on how it is sold or promoted to customers," according to Kartabrata. "Equally, a consumer’s perception is important – how the market perceives the coffee, how it is presented and marketed, plays an equally important part in the creation of a specialty coffee."

The Dutch introduced ‘specialty’ coffees to Indonesia. Toraja and Java are obvious examples of the Dutch colonial coffee trade. Today, a proposed Indonesia coffee contest is being organized by Pranoto Soenarto general manager of PT Excelso Julti to expose and promote sepecialty coffees grown in remote (and some well-known) places throughout Indonesia and introduce the coffee world to some varieties it may not have heard of – yet…. The competition will feature coffees from Papua, for example, as well as Bali, and other regions, some already known for their coffee, some not.

"Kopi Luwak has existed since the 19th century, but it only recently exploded into the market," Kartabrata told Tea & Coffee Asia. "We should be aware that processing is as important as the cherry itself. If the processing is flawed, for example if the beans are sun-dried on the earth, the flavor of the earth penetrates the beans. If there is too much moisture, mold encroaches."

These variations are difficult to control at the best of times. With a "natural" product such as Kopi Luwak, it is pretty much impossible to develop a consistent product, and there are accordingly wide variations in quality, flavor and appearance in different batches.

"Coffee is typically processed using either a wet or dry method," Kartabrata clarified. "Wet processing is the standard procedure throughout Indonesia, but it is a manual process and there can be errors in the execution. Kopi Luwak is of course processed by animals, civet cats. It is impossible to have one recognized certificate that this is indeed a genuine Luwak coffee as it could be from North Sumatra, Celebes, or even the Philippines. Ultimately it depends on the post-collection processing technique employed."

Following this concept through, it is clear then that processing also plays a major part in the creation and sustainability of all specialty coffee origins.

One specialty category that remains elusive for many Indonesian coffee producers to capitalize on is organic coffee.

"It is difficult to acquire the necessary certification, but if the certification is acquired then there is a potential for higher earnings," according to Kartabrata.

Speciality coffee prices are determined partly by the New York exchange and partly on the buyers’ perception of the sellers’ reliability and the consistency of quality. Typically contracts are made prior to shipment, often many months in advance. Price fluctuations can cause serious problems for shippers: if the price goes up and they have not got the coffee in stock, it can lead to supply issues.

Aside from arabica, Indonesia boasts of some robusta specialty coffees, such as those produced in Lampung.

"Japanese buyers buy AP [after polished] coffee at premium prices," said Kartabrata. "Japanese buyers pay higher prices because they like it. But does this make this a specialty coffee? Typically arabica is regarded as speciality, but does this robusta also qualify?"

The new contract has some Indonesian traders concerned as it does not seem offer some of the safeguards of the Rotterdam contract.

"It is difficult to determine dispute settlement, which used to be settled by arbitration under the Rotterdam contract," according to Kartabrata. "The ECC stipulates that arbitration should take place where the buyer is located, which seems impractical to many traders. The wording also appears somewhat vague – for example, it states that ‘quality should be sound and merchantable’. We have passed on some questions to the European Community via the ICO for clarification – for example, what does ‘merchantable quality’ mean?"

EU countries have also introduced toxin and chemical residue limits. According to consumer foundations, if the government finds something with the product, it should all be returned to the factory, the factory returns it to the importer, who then complains to the exporter, who takes it up with the dealers and so on.

"So far, we have received no complaints from any AEKI members, although the Japanese Importers Association have pressed AEKI to ask the government for clarification on chemicals present in coffees based on the Japanese governments list of chemical limitations in imported products," Kartabrata told us. "The Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture are both involved trying to determine the ramifications. Again, so far so good, there have been no problems reported so far, so it has not been necessary to take any steps to address the problem because as of now there does not seem to be a problem."

But how to identify micro contaminants remains a pressing issue of concern for Indonesian coffee exporters. The existing laboratory equipment commonly found in the domestic coffee industry is inappropriate and unable to detect micro elements. The PPMB Central Quality Control lab in Gracas Sheet,West Java, a government-operated laboratory, has stated that it has the ability to identify certain micro biological elements and detect certain chemical elements, but most of the coffee shipped abroad is not shipped from Jakarta.

So regarding the quality only visible contaminants can, and are, determined prior to shipment. Invisible elements, such as microbiological and chemical contaminants, are currently pretty much impossible to identify in the majority of exported coffee except in Lampung where only one major shipper (PT Putra Bali) so far has the capacity to test for toxins and microbiological contaminants.

Domestic demand is certainly rising, despite the initial presumption that due to the first economic crisis of 1997-98 the requirement for coffee domestically would reduce. The economic slump in 2008 was also thought to be a precursor to a slump in demand for coffee domestically, but demand is actually increasing, and this has caused problems for coffee producers, exporters and processors alike.

"Our estimation was that the normal domestic requirement is 120,000 tons per annum," said Kartabrata. "But recently this has risen to 180,000 tons. In 2007, there was no time for the local coffee industry to negotiate with exporters to ensure adequate supplies for the domestic market, so they turned to Vietnam to supply the shortfall. It is believed that 30,000 tons is what was imported, primarily Vietnamese robusta."

Domestic consumption in Indonesia is largely robusta blends. Some arabica from North Sumatra, Sulawesi is sometimes added to the blend. So although before October 1, 2008, for the first time in primary commodity history, the price started to go up, since that date every primary commodity, including coffee, has seen the price drop, and even the LIFFE price for robusta has not recovered nearly as fast as arabica in New York. The price difference between the two coffee types currently stands at around 100%.

"Robusta prices are very much dependant on Vietnam – if it can become more sustainable, then the price should improve," Kartabrata said. "Indonesia sees Vietnam becoming smarter and starting to change its attitude – instilling more manageable dynamics into the trade to help boost the price. But… the coffee is still there… and it is still reaching the market…" he concluded.

While Indonesia’s coffee industry remains one of the most productive and varied on the planet, its future rests as much in the hands of overseas markets as it does in the growing domestic demand.