About Us

Our History - Our Approach

Java Original® Coffee has a long history.

In 1840, during the Dutch colonial era of Indonesia, Peter William Hofland (1802 - 1872) purchased the Pamanoekan and Tjiasem Lands (also known as the P & T Lands and later as the Anglo Dutch Plantations of Java) near Subang, West Java, from Charles Forbes, the owner of Forbes & Co of Bombay.

At that time, the Pamanoekan and Tjiasem Lands, one of the most extensive freehold properties in Indonesia, which included land grants made in 1813 by British Lieutenant Sir Stamford Raffles in his capacity as governor of Batavia (now Jakarta) and Governor-General of Java, during the British occupation of the Netherlands Indies prior to the colonial land swap that resulted in the ceding of Singapore to the United Kingdom and the transfer of Raffles to become governor of Singapore.

In this transaction, the owners of the P & T lands were given freehold title of two enormous plots of land located in the northern part of West Java (from coastline of northern Java to the North, the Cipunagara River and a number of Cirebon residences to the East, the Priangan and River Cilamaya to the west and the mountainous regions to the South). As a result of these 'special autonomy rights' they were able to manage the estates without direct control, independent from, the Dutch colonial government. The agreement was officially confirmed in the Treaty of London (1824) which recognized the Straits of Malacca as the dividing line between Dutch and British territories, but also legitimized actions taken during the British interregnum (1806 - 1816) of the Dutch colony.

Hofland was considered a charitable landowner who providing adequate wages to indigenous people who wanted to work in his coffee and tea gardens. Being the owner of the freehold property, Hofland also greatly benefited the local residents by refusing to implement the forced cultivation system (known as 'cultuurstelsel'), a revenue system that forced farmers to pay revenue to the treasury of the Dutch colonial government in the form of prescribed export crops or compulsory labor (or both). Introduced in 1830 this 'new' policy ended the policy of economic liberalism in the colony which required farmers to only pay a proportion of their crop (as was done under the Raffles regime).

Until 1919 the estates covered a land area of approximately ​​212,900 hectares (523,863 acre). In that year, following more than two decades of political struggles, the Dutch and Netherlands Indisch colonial government purchased the areas of the freehold estates which were not part of the plantations while the Anglo-Dutch Plantations of Java Limited was allowed to retain 29,400 hectare (72,503 acres) for its plantation business as well as offices, staff and employee housing, tea and rubber factories, and company managed hospitals in Subang, Sukamandi and Tjompreng (Sukanagara) and many centrally placed clinics.

Beyond Coffee
In addition to coffee, the Anglo-Dutch Plantations of Java also produced a variety of products, including tea, indigo, rice, palm oil, kapok, rice, tapioca, rubber, and sisal.

During the sharp decline of the demand for tea between June 1922 and July 1923, the Anglo-Dutch Plantations of Java purchased 15 tea plantations as well as three coffee and rubber plantations on Java. in part with the funds received from the Dutch and Netherlands Indisch colonial government. In addition to 9,551 hectare (23,500 acres), these purchases also include 18 rubber and tea processing and packaging facilities.

Growth

In 1925, at the annual meeting of the company, the Anglo Dutch Plantations of Java announced the early development of more than 32,500 hectare (80,000 acres) of land in the Tanau district (now Tanah Datar Regency), a landlocked regency (kabupaten) in West Sumatra, especially reserved for the development of new tea gardens.

 

At the time, the company owned 32 different estates on Java.  Among the tea estates was Kasomalang, situated in beautiful country near Subang at an altitude of 1,700 feet and, at the time considered one of the finest tea estates on Java.

In addition to tea gardens, the Kasomalang estate also included 30 acres of tea nurseries containing the best of species of tea originating from (British) India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) as well as 2 tea factories and packing facilities, both running on sustainable electricity generated by a hydroelectric power installation (owned by Anglo-Dutch Plantations of Java) located along a nearby river.

Tea remained a profitable, with Indonesia being ranked as the world’s fourth-biggest tea producer (today Indonesia ranks 7th).  However, as the results of global over-production plantation companies gradually switched to other tropical crops.

Traditionally, the estates of the Anglo Dutch Plantations of Java produced a sweet and aromatic black tea. These teas are considered perfect for blending and for flavored teas, but in general, do not offer the specific qualities of single origin and terroir teas.

A World War and Rebuilding
During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, most of the estates belonging to the Anglo Dutch Plantations of Java and P & T lands were managed with care. Unlike leasehold estates, the P & T lands, together with other ‘freehold estates’ were managed by a separate administration in Batavia (now Jakarta). This was, in part, due to the fact that the Japanese government in Indonesia understood the importance of the estates as agricultural enterprises.  In managing the estates during the occupation, the Japanese kept most of the estates in good working condition. They did, however, uproot the Tambakan tea estate (866 acres) to plant Coca in its place (to produce Cocaine).

With the surrender of Japan in August 15, 1945 and the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence (Proklamasi Kemerdekaan Indonesia, or simply, Proklamasi) on August 17, the P & T Lands passes to the control of the Republic. Except for uprooting parts of the estates rubber estates and use the lands to grow native crops, little damage was done to the estates and properties of the Anglo Dutch Plantations of Java and P & T lands during Republican control. Only to the end of July 1947, during the so-called ‘police action,’ which were, in fact, military actions designed by the colonial authorities and the Dutch government to ‘recover’ economically important regions and ‘restore’ Dutch authority in Indonesia, large areas of the estates and many key facilities were destroyed. However, most of the destruction of the estates was caused by the Dutch military in their attempt to re-occupy parts of Java and by withdrawing Republican forces. This included the destruction of many of the company’s processing plants (for processing coffee, tea, rubber, and other agricultural products) and the company’s hydro-electric power stations on which the estates plants and numerous towns and villages in the surrounding area depended for electricity.  Also destroyed were the company’s headquarters in Subang (which was completed just before the Japanese occupation), many administrative buildings on the various estates and the ‘Big House,’ a magnificent villa built in the late 1840 by Peter William Hofland.  Remarkably, one of the most advanced processing plants for tea and kina, designed and constructed in 1937 on the P & T lands’ Tangkuban Perahu estate (this is the most southerly of the P & T Lands, just north of the city of Bandung, the provincial capital of West Java), was practically undamaged. This was good news for the company’s management team and helped in reconstruction of the company’s facilities.

Although a skeleton group managers of the Anglo Dutch Plantations of Java had, in 1946, established a small office in Jakarta, reconstruction and operational management of the P & T lands did not start until the second half of 1947.  This work started with repairs and reconstruction of the processing plants, with the company’s Engineering Department bringing back some of the facilities in the summer of 1948 (the first year of post-war operations), allowing Anglo Dutch Plantations of Java to produce and manufacture approximately two-and a half million pounds of tea that year.  In 1948 the company also re-started the rubber estates and  the production of sisal, tapioca and coffee.

After Independence
Following World War II and the independence of Indonesia, the company adopted a new name: Anglo-Indonesian Plantations. Under its former name of Anglo-Dutch Plantations of Java Limited, it had, prior to 1964, been the holding company of P & T Lands which was one of the earliest Java-based plantation companies.

In 1963 the company managed 21 individual estates, employing more than 30,500 employees, and producing primarily rubber, tea, and coffee, but also crops including rice, quinine, cocoa, kapok, and cinchona. Of the 21 estates, 15 estates were referred to as the ‘inner estates,’ producing most of the crops, and 6 less important ‘outer estates’ producing less important crops.  In 1963, being one of the largest estate companies in Indonesia, the Anglo Indonesian (Plantation) Corporation plc, valued at UK L 6.0 million (US $ 16.8 million) generated about UK L 2.4 million (US $ 6.7 million) in exports.  This all came to an end when following a time of political unrest which ended in the late 1960s.

Merger
In the early 1980s Anglo-Indonesian Plantations and Plantation & General agreed to merge their activities and, together with other Indonesian plantation interests.  This resulted in the formation of a new holding company called Anglo-Eastern Plantations.

Anglo-Eastern Plantations became the first post-war public offering of a new plantation company and was listed on the London Stock Exchange in April 1985. After the listing, Anglo-Indonesian became a fully owned subsidiary of Plantation & General.

Following the nationalization of Dutch and British owned companies in the 1950s and 1960s much of the traditional activities of the Anglo-Dutch Plantations of Java, the P & T lands, and the companies established on their foundation, including various plantation companies growing tea, coffee, sisal, indigo, quinine and other products has been lost.

Today Anglo-Eastern Plantations, focuses primarily on the production of palm oil and some rubber, while small remnants of the company established by Peter William Hofland are returning to their roots.

Our driving force
Java Original Coffee Company was established on the foundations for the Anglo-Dutch Plantations of Java, the P & T Lands, and the hard work and vision of Peter William Hofland and others.

Our unique history remains our driving force, offering a line of artisan roasted coffees source from around the globe, including Sumatra, Java, New Guinea, Colombia, Ecuador, Burundi. Ethiopia and other countries, while maintaining our family’s rich history & values.

Our seasonal whole bean coffee menu is curated by experts and offers something for everyone. Each coffee with a unique but approachable flavor focus.

We pride ourselves that with our uniquely created year-round blends, we achieve the same flavors throughout the different seasons. Although the coffees themselves will change with our menu, our team of experts grates that the basic flavor profiles will be as close as we can achieve.

Throughout the year we source a variety of coffees from single regions or farms. We want to give you the opportunity to experience different and unique flavors based on the origin and processing method.

Our roasting style (and expertise) is emblematic of our interest in developing and expressing each coffee’s inherent flavor. And we do that without imparting any roast or smoke notes.

Our goal is to provide you with unique but approachable coffees that are delicious in their own special way.

Coffee that is sweet, well-balanced, and full of a unique flavor. And with our unique legacy, we have something really special to offer, something, we believe, you want to enjoy and then to come back to for more…

Java Original® Coffee. We’re the home of incredible artisan roasted gourmet coffee!

Join us for your perfect morning brew.