Old Brown Java Coffee Also called Old Brown coffee, Old Brown Java is an aged, monsooned coffee grown on the old colonial estates on the east end of Java Island in Indonesia. These green coffee beans which are milled but not yet roasted are exposed to the region’s moist, warm air throughout the rainy season. Monsooning Old Brown Java Coffee The monsooning of the Old Brown Java coffee beans may continue for as long as three years. The monsooning process results in a strengthening of the coffee’s taste, a weakening of the acidity. There is also a distinct color change from the original green tint of the coffee beans to a light brown color. Old Brown Java coffee is a mature coffee with a taste intended to mimic the taste of the original Java coffee that was inadvertently aged in the hulls of ships traveling to Europe in the 1700s and 1800s.

Old Brown Java is the coffee of dark burgundy libraries and billiard tables. Aged over a period of five years, over which time the beans are transformed from green to brown, this is an old boys’ blend which calls for the very best Cuban cigar. 

The unique ageing process was discovered in the 16th century, back when the Dutch introduced the first coffee seeds to the island of Java in Indonesia. As the spice ships carried their cargo back to Europe, the raw beans would be stored away in the hold to act as ballast. After several months at sea, the result was a robust, full-bodied bean, tempered by the wood and the brine to produce an exceptional earthiness of flavour with a hint of sweetness.

Cupping has a syrupy taste, hints of spice and pipe tobacco smoke.