Image: Caffeine & Co studio
The Coffee Atlas
Bali Kintamani
Bali Kintamani, Indonesia's first geographical-indication coffee, grown by subak abian farmers in volcanic highlands, with sourced cupping scores and citations.
Flavor profile
avg. of 3 published reviewsScale: 1-10, Coffee Review / SCA-classic-form convention. Averaged from 3 independently published, dated Coffee Review scores of natural-process Bali Kintamani lots (Lexington Coffee Roasters, November 2012; Bassline Coffee, May 2023; City Boy Coffee, March 2024). Not a category-wide statistical sample: all three are natural-process lots, while the original GI specification describes washed coffee, and individual lots vary with roast level and processing.
What it tastes like
Kintamani is the Balinese coffee with a legal identity: in 2008 it became Indonesia’s first registered geographical indication, and the original specification describes fully washed Arabica from a zone above 900 m. It is grown by smallholders organized in subak abian, traditional farmer groups on volcanic soil, rather than on estates.
The three Coffee Review lots averaged here are all naturals, and they read as fruit and sugar rather than the earthy Indonesian stereotype: brandy-toned raisin and banana with jasmine in one, strawberry and baking chocolate in another, lychee and grape in the oldest. Flavor scored 9 in all three, and body was 8 or 9.
The weak spot is the finish. Aftertaste scored 7 or 8, and the reviewers describe it as crisp and quiet or sweet and caramelly rather than long. Treat the numbers as three lots, not a promise: washed Kintamani, the style the GI was written around, is not represented here.
How to brew it
Method fit for this origin · editorial guidance from roaster convention
A filter shows off the berry, raisin and jasmine notes of the naturals without hiding their sweetness.
The plush, syrupy body reviewers describe suits immersion, though some of the floral detail is lost.
Sweet, chocolatey naturals pull pleasantly, but fruit-forward lots can read sharp and need careful dialling in.
⚠ Fit tiers are editorial guidance drawn from roaster convention; no industry standard scores brew fit, so we show tiers, never invented numbers. Reflects brew guidance commonly published by specialty roasters for Indonesian natural-process lots, not an SCA-defined standard.
Altitude & region
Growing elevation, meters above sea level · this entry vs comparison bands
Bali Kintamani's range is sourced directly from Indonesia Specialty Coffee's origin article (see Sources & data), and the same exporter lists a higher band elsewhere. Sumatra Lintong, Sumatra Mandheling and Brazil Cerrado are shown for scale using bands already published on this site, not lot-specific measurements.
Caffeine content
Caffeine by dry weight · each gold dot = 0.1%
Caffeine content tracks species, not origin, altitude, or processing: roughly 1.2% for Arabica versus roughly 2.2% for Robusta, close to double (see Sources & data). Kintamani is 100% Arabica; no credible per-origin caffeine figure exists at a category level, so a fruity natural is not more or less caffeinated than a washed lot.
Where to buy it
Transparency: some links on this site are affiliate links; if you buy through them we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Roasters are picked for genuine, current sourcing of this coffee, never for who pays us.
Subscription roaster that has sourced Bali coffee since 2015 and publishes a Bali origin profile; check what is currently in rotation.
View lot→Oakland roaster whose natural Kintamani earned the 93-point Coffee Review score cited here; this links to that review, so check their shop for the current lot.
View lot→Long Island City roaster whose natural Kintamani earned the 91-point review cited here; this links to that review, so check their shop for the current lot.
View lot→Wide selection of Bali coffees; check roast dates, 100%-origin labeling and seller reviews, since many are blends.
View lot→Sources & data
- Indonesia Specialty Coffee: Bali Kintamani coffee article900-1,500 m altitude (most coffee at 1,100-1,400 m), 2008 GI registration, GI zone above 900 m, original GI spec of fully washed Arabica, subak abian description
- Indonesia Specialty Coffee: Arabica Bali Kintamani Grade 1Separate 1,200-1,700 m altitude listing, cited to show the range varies by source
- Atlas Coffee Club: Bali origin notesKintamani as main growing area, volcanic soil, 3,000+ smallholders in about 60 subak abian groups, 2008 GI as Indonesia's first
- Coffee Review: Bali Kintamani, Lexington Coffee RoastersCupping scores (1 of 3 averaged); November 2012, 91 points, natural process
- Coffee Review: Bali Kintamani, Bassline CoffeeCupping scores (2 of 3 averaged); May 2023, 93 points, natural process, subak abian
- Coffee Review: Bali Kintamani, City Boy CoffeeCupping scores (3 of 3 averaged); March 2024, 91 points, natural process; variety list Bourbon, S795, USDA 762, Typica, Catimor
- Coffee Review: scoring methodologyStates the 1 (low) to 10 (high) rating for each of five categories
- Crozier et al.: Espresso coffees, caffeine and chlorogenic acid intake (Food & Function, 2012)Peer-reviewed (Univ. of Glasgow): states robusta coffee beans contain almost twice as much caffeine as arabica, by species (no percentage figures given in this paper)
- Development of a fast and simple method to identify pure Arabica coffee and blended coffee by Infrared Spectroscopy (J. Food Sci. Technol., 2021, PMC8292507)Peer-reviewed, open-access: "Arabica beans usually presents 1.0 to 1.5% w.w-1 of caffeine and Robusta beans presents 2.0 to 2.5% w.w-1" (quoted verbatim, source's own wording) -- source for this entry's 1.2% Arabica / 2.2% Robusta figures, both within the stated ranges