At first, the people know that the coffee trade system is fully controlled by Arab traders. Hence the term COFFEE ARABICA. By then of course the price of coffee so expensive, and many people from around the world who are tempted to engage in this commodity business, but traders shut secret arab origin precious commodities.
At the end of the 19th century, a Dutch merchant managed to steal the coffee seeds from Arab merchants in a Port in Yemen named Mocha (UK). By the Dutch, coffee seedlings were stolen was brought to the colonies country, Java, precisely in Ijen mountain slopes at the eastern end of the island. Turns coffee thrives there. And with them the Arab monopoly on coffee commodity, the Netherlands has now become the new players.
Since then not only known in terms of Arabica coffee, but also appears to refer to the term JAVA coffee drinks, sometimes the term is combined with Mocha, became Mocha Java. It refers to the Java coffee from seed stolen Dutch in Mocha. Now the term is becoming more famous JAVA again when a programmer coffee addict immortalize be the name of a computer program with a warm cup of coffee logo steaming.
From Java coffee began to spread throughout the world. Originally coffee from Java brought to France to study and glorified in plant development center in France. And again the French who have land in the country colony in South America managed to steal this plant, and develop it there and then South America became the largest coffee producer in the world to this day. Coffee eventually become a commodity world that supposedly now the second largest traded commodity in the world after oil. Initially, the Netherlands grow coffee in all places. But it turns out the coffee quality is not the same everywhere. Through the Dutch research found that coffee grown in the highlands of better quality than the coffee grown in the lowlands. Later known, this occurs because the coffee grown in the lowlands, precocious because it caused the heat so that the seeds may be light because not enough of the nutrients absorbed from the soil. Worse yet, in the 30s, almost all the coffee plantations owned by the Dutch in Java destroyed by pests leaf rust. Research re-done, finally found that in tropical regions near the equator, coffee plants can only grow well in areas with an altitude of over 800 meters.
The problem, in Java and the entire Dutch colony in the Indian, not a lot of areas that qualify it (later discovered another species of pest-resistant coffee leaf rust and can be grown in the lowlands, the type of coffee is then known as Robusta coffee, derived from the word ROBUST which approximately means tough, but unfortunately this is less preferred species of coffee the coffee drinkers in Europe).
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Dutch conquered Aceh. Although the de jure actually Netherlands never really conquer Aceh. But in fact, since the beginning of the 20th century the Dutch had been the reigning lord and make Aceh as colonies.
In Aceh, the Netherlands found a vast plateau known as the [[Tanoh Gayo]], located in the heart of this region, which is based on research that they did was very suitable for growing coffee. And this is where the magic begins. In Tanoh Gayo, the Dutch built in Takengon rule base which is located right on the shores of Lake Laut Tawar surface at an altitude of 1250 masl. Later, the city developed into a center of economic and governance and the largest city in Tanoh Gayo. The first coffee plantations in the Netherlands developed area called Striped Gele located not far from this city. To this day, this area is known as one of the best coffee producing areas in Tanoh Gayo.
From Striped Gele, coffee spread to all corners of Tanoh Gayo cold air. When in 1945, the Dutch left. As in Java, all their assets including coffee plantations live in Gayo. But unlike in Java plantation operations followed by government companies and workers remain employed in Java.
In Gayo, which occurs differently. After the Dutch leave, farms were left behind were distributed to the local community, especially those who previously worked there. As in Java, the Indonesian government after the physical revolution is sometimes presented by the Dutch coffee plantation is the military leaders as a reward for their services and their struggle. Examples such as plantations Klatak time in Banyuwangi, covering an area of 1300 hectares of coffee plantations that once belonged to the Dutch awarded by the Government of Indonesia to a military officer named Suhud. In Gayo even so, a Dutch-owned plantations and its factories are located in the village of Bandar Lampahan (now entered Bener Meriah administrative region), right at the foot of the active volcano Burni Telong, awarded by the government to a military officer named Ilyas Leubee Gayo origin which in the past physical revolution risking their lives on the battlefield Medan Area. But unlike Suhud, Ilyas Leubee not take the prize for himself. Ilyas Leubee now deceased, share them with the people around and not continue the management of the garden so that even then abandoned factory Dutch heritage and become scrap metal until now. Finds that turned out very profitable coffee plants. Farmers who did not get any coffee plantations, began to cultivate vacant lands surrounding the coffee plant, so that there are now at least 90 thousand hectares of coffee plantations in the Central Highlands are now separated into two districts. This makes the central highlands as the largest producer of Arabica coffee is not only in Indonesia, but also Asia. Because the coffee plantations in Gayo managed by individual farmers with an average maximum of 2 hectares of land ownership.
Gayo coffee character to be very diverse, never mind the type of soil and grow different heights even fairly extreme. (Land Volcanic in Lukup Soap, Bandar lampahan, Simpang Balik and Bener Meriah other regions and not volcanic in Jagong Jeget, Batu Lintang and surrounding areas. The height of about 700 masl in singah Mulo, until the 1500s Meter in Lukup Soap).
Varieties grown coffee varies considerably, ranging from Bourbon to Catimor with a variety of variations. Not to mention we speak of post-harvest handling. All of this makes coffee Gayo be very unique in view of coffee lovers in the world. Gayo coffee flavor is never stable but his score is always above average. And miraculously discovered later, all the extreme differences that exist in this Gayo Tanoh, making all sorts of flavors typical of specialty coffee in the world Tanoh Gayo. Coffee distinctive flavor Kintamani, Sulawesi, even to Colombia and Kenya can be found in this magical land. Wonders like the one in Gayo, can not be found in coffee production centers anywhere on the planet Earth. As God who presented Bordeaux who like paradise for wine lovers, it was the Lord had already presented Gayo for coffee lovers in the world.
The difference, if Bordeaux highly appreciated in France there, both from citizens and government. Gayo, currently still struggling to get a decent appreciation acquired, though now not get to that stage.
