Mount Cikurai Garut is renowned as the highest mountain in Garut, standing at 2,281 meters above sea level. The region is divided into three sub-districts: Bayongbong, Cilawu, and Cikajang, where numerous coffee and vegetable plantations thrive. Approximately 69 smallholder farmers in the Cikajang area contribute coffee cherries, delivering them directly to the wet mill in Leles Garut. The coffee is promptly depulped and undergoes a classic washed processing method. The mill's facilities allow for this processing technique, enabling better control over drying conditions—an often challenging task for smaller operations due to the region's humidity.
Some of the large coffee estates established by the Dutch 175 years ago can still be found on the volcanic Ijen Plateau at the eastern tip of Java. However, most coffee farmers are smallholders, cultivating coffee on an average of 1.5 hectares, many of them located among a cluster of volcanoes in West Java, where coffee cultivation first began on the island. Although disease-resistant Robusta has become the dominant coffee crop, West Java has experienced a steady increase in Arabica production in recent years. Arabica generally thrives above 1,200 meters, and virtually all coffee produced in the region is fully washed.
