What is the wet-hulled process (Giling Basah)?

The wet-hulled process - Giling Basah in Indonesian, meaning "wet grinding" - is a distinct processing method unique to parts of Indonesia, particularly Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Flores. It produces the characteristic cup profile most associated with Indonesian specialty coffee.

In Giling Basah, freshly pulped beans are only partially dried - to around 35–40% moisture - before the parchment is hulled off while the bean still has elevated moisture content. The freshly hulled, high-moisture beans then return to drying to reach export levels of 11–12%.

The result is a bean with distinctively dark, opal-green or blue-green colour, a swollen and irregular appearance, and a porous structure. In the cup: very low acidity, full body, earthy character, dark chocolate notes, sometimes herbal or tobacco-like complexity. The process exists partly for practical reasons - partial drying before hulling shortens the time coffee occupies a farmer's limited drying space - but the cup profile it produces has become a defining identity of Indonesian coffee in international markets.