Wet-hulling — giling basah — is the Indonesian signature, born of a humid climate that makes slow drying impractical. The parchment is stripped off while the bean is still soft and damp, then drying finishes on the bare green bean. The method tamps down acidity and brightness and trades them for a heavy, syrupy body and savoury, earthy, cedar-and-tobacco depth that you will not find anywhere else.
How it works, step by step
- 1Pick and pulp the cherries
- 2Brief fermentation, then partial drying
- 3Hull off the parchment while the bean is still wet
- 4Finish drying the bare green bean
