Sourced from Yoyo Kusnadi's farm in Sukawangi, West Java, this unroasted green lot is a rare coffee varietal: Coffea Excelsa, prized for its bold body and distinctive flavor profile beyond typical Arabica or Robusta beans. Processed using a steel-drum anaerobic method, this green coffee carries expected cupping notes of rum raisin, tropical fruit, clove, and cacao once roasted, with a bold, funk-forward anaerobic character. A distinctive micro-lot for roasters seeking something adventurous.
Yoyo Kusnadi — Payoyo Anaerobic Excelsa
In the hills of Sukawangi, on the western ridgelines of Sumedang in West Java, coffee has grown quietly for generations. The village sits between 900 and 1,000 meters above sea level, and it was here, during the Dutch colonial era, that some of the region's first Excelsa trees were planted. Most of those old plantations were eventually converted to other crops, but a handful of towering, decades-old Excelsa trees were left standing — tall, easy to overlook, and simply waiting for their moment.
That moment found its purpose in Pak Yoyo Kusnadi, one of Sukawangi's most respected farmers. He leads one of the area's most active farmer groups, and his work stretches far beyond coffee, spanning vegetables, tobacco, cloves, and livestock. Locals describe him simply: he is the professor, and his farm is the laboratory. It was at his group's basecamp that Sukawangi's Excelsa first began earning recognition in national and international competitions, a turning point that helped the whole village realize the value already growing in its own soil. This lot is named in his honor — Payoyo.
Excelsa remains one of coffee's least-known species. First documented in 1903 by French botanist Auguste Chevalier along the Chari River in present-day Chad, it grows as a true tree rather than a shrub, often reaching more than ten meters tall, with a deep, resilient root system built to survive harsh and unpredictable conditions. Today it accounts for only a small fraction of global coffee production, long overshadowed by Arabica and Robusta, even though a single mature tree can yield far more cherry than either. It is, in every sense, a forgotten treasure that specialty coffee is only now starting to rediscover.
For this lot, ripe cherries are hand-sorted and sealed into steel drums for a 144-hour anaerobic fermentation before being carefully dried and prepared as green coffee. The extended fermentation gives sugars more time to break down, setting up a cup with pronounced fermented acidity, a medium body, and the signature sweet finish Excelsa is known for. Once roasted, expect notes of rum raisin, tropical fruit, clove, and cacao — a bold, funk-forward cup for roasters ready to explore something different.
Sukawangi is not only a coffee village. Its farmer groups also raise paprika, tomatoes, tobacco, and cloves, and coffee shares the landscape with livestock and greenhouse crops. Excelsa is simply one more expression of a community that has always worked closely with its land. Every lot carries the same resilience the tree itself was built for.
Coffee Profile
- Origin: Sukawangi, Sumedang, West Java, Indonesia
- Farmer: Pak Yoyo Kusnadi
- Altitude: ~950 masl
- Variety: Excelsa (Coffea dewevrei)
- Process: Anaerobic, steel drum, 144-hour fermentation
- Form: Green / unroasted
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Expected Flavor Notes: Rum raisin, tropical fruit, clove, cacao
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