History
The journey of Coffee to the island of Java was long and perilous. It is a story – part legend, part fact - that has touched every continent over its almost seven-hundred year history. Coffee came to be produced in Java with the involvement of the Dutch East-India Trade Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC). When VOC was dissolved in 1799, the archipelago fell under direct control of The Netherlands government. Coffee cultivation on Java was proving extremely productive and lucrative. And the thirst for Java coffee in Europe was unquenchable.
In 1922 a young Dutchman, Gustav Van der Swan, leased a total of fourteen hectare land from the government of The Netherlands East Indies to start a coffee plantation in the highlands of Central Java. At that time this area was relatively unexplored due to its prohibitive, buy yet stunning, mountainous terrain. Indeed, the plantation is located 900 meters above sea level and is surrounded by no fewer than eight volcanoes. He named his estate Karangredjo Coffee Plantation complemented it with the construction of the plantation manor house in 1928. He planted robusta seedlings (which production began in earnest 1932) and remained proprietor of the plantation through the war and into the first decades of independence. After forty years maintaining coffee plantation and proved too much for the aging, Van der Swan in 1946 sold the plantation to Colonel Tjokroprawiro, a retired army officer and hero of the revolution from Salatiga.
Tjokroprawiro kept cultivating coffee until 1988 when he passed away. His wife took over the day-to-day operations, but; just like Van der Swan, when maintenance proved difficult and costly by 1991 she was ready to find a buyer. Around this time, Gabriella Teggia, a native of Rome; who came to Indonesia in 1965 and the former owner of Amandari Resort in Ubud-Bali; was trekking through the mountains looking for some old coffee plantations where she could develop a new concept of resort. She purchased the plantation with the help of her partner, Raden Ayu Anita Dewayani, on the last day of December 1991.
They changed the name from Karangredjo to Losari after the village in which it is located.
Products
The plantation produces high-quality organic robusta coffee beans every year. In addition to coffee, Losari also produces its own fresh organic vegetables such as romaine, arugula, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes; red, yellow, and green peppers; green and red spinach, red onions, shallots, carrots, potatoes, and cassava. The tropical fruits used in our delicious and refreshing juices, smoothies and granitas such as orange, papaya, banana, durian, lychee, salak, mango, starfruit, jackfruit, sawo and guava are organically grown on-site as well.
The Plantation Tour
Being an extreme ecological site, Losari Coffee Plantation welcomes all visitors to tour and explore all about the coffee growing and harvesting process. Plantation Tour has been the most popular choice among our Resort Activities programs.