The Depths of Utara Dark

By: Arthur Hardie

There’s no denying the current trend in modern coffee shops: light, pungent, fruit-forward roasts are in fashion. Sometimes, the mere mention of a dark or medium roast will make you seem old school, and not cool. And that’s understandable. Food, beer, and wine all go through similar trends. The American beer industry experienced a whiplash from light adjunct lagers to over-hopped IPAs, almost out of rebellion, almost overnight.

After decades of big box brands over-roasting poor quality beans, it makes sense. The modern specialty coffee shop has nothing to hide; their beans are all pretty great. Tangy, fresh coffee is way better than burnt garbage. The whole movement makes sense. But we shouldn’t be tossing out deliciously dark roasted coffee beans just because. If the coffee is good, and the beans are farmed the right way, up in the mountains of Indonesia, far from typical agricultural machines, then even a dark roast can be light on the tongue. And that’s Utara Dark.

coffee prepared with the pour over method

One of the best Indonesian coffees in the United States, Utara Dark is a single-origin, direct-from-farm bean dark roasted with precision and care—on a culinary and craft level. It’s not bitter; it’s low acid. The flavor has depth for days, like a deep fig and chocolate. You can add cream or sugar, drink it black, nail a flavorful French Press, blend it with Utara Light for your own Medium flavor, or go right to espresso. And yes, the nostalgic flavor is an homage to the old American taste buds but done with elevated flavor artistry.

It’s a bean worth celebrating and a name that means “north” in Indonesian because it comes from the North Torajan region, in wild, jungle farms. It’s a fine Indonesian coffee, roasted under the guidance of a decades-experienced master roaster here in the United States. The farming methods are entirely by hand. The roasting is impeccable. The beans are dark with a lovely oil sheen. And the flavor is versatile and something that can be enjoyed every day in your home or even the trendiest coffee shops in America.

Try Utara Dark and explore the flavor depths of this premium Indonesian coffee with precision roasting.

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