Flores Island "Komodo Dragon"

Flores Island "Komodo Dragon"

• Roast Profile:Medium-dark
• Flavor Profile:Full bodied, complex tastes with spicy, floral, and chocolate notes, very low acidity, and an amazing aroma. An awesome cup of coffee!
• Certification: Organic, shade grown, Rainforest Alliance Certified, direct trade

This organic, shade grown and Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee is directly traded from the island of Flores, one of over 17,000 islands in the Indonesian Archipelago. Our particular Flores coffee comes from the Ruteng region and is grown at an altitude of around 5,000 feet. This area receives the perfect amount of sun, rain, and cloud cover each day, creating the unique and wonderful flavor profile the Flores has to offer.
The coffee bushes are grown in tiny backyard spaces by hundreds of families living in several villages in Ruteng. These families tend the coffee all year, hand pick the ripe cherries during harvest season, and dry and hull the cherries before turning the beans in for payment. Managers of each village then take the collection of coffee for the families to the nearest cooperative to have weighed so that each family can receive payment for the weight of coffee they processed.
30-40,000 pounds of beans are then taken to neighboring Java to complete the fermentation/ washing/ bagging process before finally finding their way to a United States port of harbor.

Flores Island (Flowers Island) was originally named Cabo da Flores by Portuguese sailors in the 17th century. Many assume that it was named for the island's abundance of beautiful tropical flowers, but it was actually because of the colorful coral reefs that compose underwater gardens.

Flores Island is home to many endangered and threatened species including the Komodo Dragon, the Flores green pigeon, Flores Crow, and Lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo all of which are now being protected on the island. The wildlife is abundant in the rainforest surrounding the villages, providing natural pest control and fertilization of the coffee bushes. The average bush in the area grows to around 30 feet in height, a good 10 feet taller than those found on typical farms.

Tree Frog Coffees is proud to be working with the forest restoration program on Flores Island. For every container of coffee that ships to our shores, there are 1,000 native tree saplings planted in nature reserves to help protect the wildlife and help reduce the constant erosion common in many volcanic regions.
We are thrilled to have access to this very limited, exotic, and wonderful specialty coffee!

A view of Flores Island

The rugged, mountainous terrain of parts of the island

Coffee managers from the village going over scientific data

Perfect example of jungle grown coffee.

Komodo dragon walking through the jungle

An overview of the village where the coffee families live

The endangered Flores green-pigeon found in the coffee growing area

The Flores Crow, endemic to the island, is found throughout the coffee growing area.