Abstract The Arabica coffee sector in West Java—particularly in Garut, Bandung, and Bogor—plays a strategic role in Indonesia’s specialty coffee market and is managed by smallholder farmers cultivating less than two hectares of land. Limited access to postharvest technology and uneven market integration contribute to income disparities that are not fully explained by yield or price variation, highlighting the need for an integrated postharvest systems evaluation. This study assessed Arabica coffee post-harvest performance by combining mass balance analysis, value addition estimation using the Hayami method, and supply chain mapping within a mixed-methods framework involving field observations, interviews, and quantitative analysis. Mass balance analysis showed differences in the physical conversion efficiency across the processing methods. The final green bean recovery rates were 18.0–18.5% for full-wash processing, 19.0–19.5% for honey processing, 23.5–24.0% for natural processing, and 24.0–24.5% for wine processing, with the largest losses occurring during drying and hulling. Despite lower physical recovery rates, honey and wine fermentation generates higher economic returns due to price premiums in specialty markets. Scenario analyses under ± 10–20% price and yield variations show that profitability rankings across processing methods remain stable and are more sensitive to price premiums than yield changes. Supply chain mapping reveals that cooperatives and MSMEs in Garut and Bandung provide stronger upgrading opportunities than farmer–collector structures in Bogor. The findings demonstrate that integrating postharvest efficiency with differentiated fermentation practices and institutional coordination is essential for enhancing the competitiveness and value capture of smallholder specialty coffee systems.
Nuraisyah et al. (2026) studied this question.