Get to know Ekselsa Coffee Wonosalam
DURING this mountainous region in Wonosalam Subdistrict, Jombang Regency, East Java is known as a coffee-producing area. There is no exact record of the amount of coffee produced from Wonosalam. Likewise with the history of the existence of coffee plants in Wonosalam. However, if we look at the Java a Traveler's Anthology book, it mentions that in 1861 a British naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace, had traveled to Jombang and then traveled to visit a coffee garden in Wonosalam and collected specimens of partridge and birds, especially peacocks.
There are various types of coffee grown and produced here. Robusta, arabica and some types of early coffee from crosses, are widely cultivated by the community. Which is quite famous and legendary is ekselsa coffee or in Wonosalam often called asisa coffee. At least until the 80s this coffee still dominated the variety of coffee grown by the community.
Until today even this type of coffee still exists and grows in several villages in Wonosalam. For example, in the Dusun Segunung, Carangwulung Village, which is located right on the slopes of Mount Anjasmoro with an altitude of almost 1000 meters above sea level, ekselsa coffee plants are very legendary and have a long history, as well as supporting the economy of the community. coffee managed by the Netherlands. In this area there is also a coffee processing factory that was built in the 1920s. It's a pity, even though during elementary school I often "played around" with this coffee factory building, I didn't have any documentation photos.
The distance is about 1.5 km from my elementary school, or about 3.5 km from my residence. In 1997, I last saw the building which was still standing firmly. However, in the 2000s, the Dutch coffee factory building was already flat on the ground. And is it possible that Alfred Russel Wallace in 1861 had visited the Segunung area, which meant that the coffee plantation in Wonosalam had existed before 1861? May be.
If it is true that the coffee garden has been around before that year, is the coffee planted also an exelic type? Most likely not. At least some of the literature states that exelsa coffee originated from the West African region and was only discovered in 1905 by A. Chevalier around the Char River and Lake Chad.
Then from there it was spread by travelers, traders, and colonizing countries to their colonies, such as the Dutch colonial which spread it to Indonesia.
Ekselsa coffee itself is still one of the economic supports for the Wonosalam community, in addition to clove, cacao and fruit commodities. In the Wonosalam region this coffee is generally picked in September-October or after the clove harvest season. However, this coffee can also be harvested outside the harvest season because sometimes there is flowering outside the season. Even after picking, a few moments later often bring new flowers, which are white and have a distinctive smell.
The distinctive feature of Exelsa coffee plant is that it has strong roots, large stems and can reach 8 meters in height. The header can extend horizontally with wide leaves. If this plant has been several years or tens of years, especially if it is planted close to one tree with another tree, making sunlight can barely penetrate to the surface of the ground. Other plants such as grasses and weeds cannot grow underneath. The young leaves are generally brownish red and eventually turn green and dark green and even tend to be dark.
This coffee plant is very suitable if planted in intercropping with petai plants. Of course petai plants are planted first to reach a certain height. Petai plants, in addition to small leaves suitable for shade plants and as a source of nutrients for coffee, also canopy and leaves do not interfere with sunlight to get to the coffee plant. In addition, how to harvest petai also does not disturb and damage the coffee plant. For example, if coffee is intercropped with sengon trees or others, which when harvesting wood will definitely damage coffee plants. With strong roots, large and tall stems of exelic coffee can be planted in almost all types of soil and weather. Starting from the lowlands to the highlands. In addition, this coffee is relatively resistant to pests and diseases and is more resistant to hot weather or less water conditions. When the coffee flower season arrives, the flower aroma is very distinctive and sharply spreads around. Usually the bees will soon swarm the blooming coffee flowers.
Meanwhile, the appearance of exelsa coffee beans is very interesting when it is still intact. Both those who are still green or those who are already flushed red. But the seeds that have been peeled, are not too large in size
