1000g - Sumatra, Indonesia

This Wet-Hulled batch comes from the Ara Cahayani Gayo co-op in Aceh, North Sumatra. The co-op was started by 25 farmers but now works with more than 2,000 smallholders.

The Wet Hulled process - known in Indonesia as "Giling Basah" - is largely unique to the islands and produces a characteristic cup profile that is spicy. Ripe coffee berries are hand-picked, mashed the same day and fermented overnight. The wet parchment (locally known as Gabu) is then sun-dried for 1-2 days at which point the moisture content is still high (around 40%). The coffee is then hulled (the parchment or skin from the bean is mechanically removed) and then sun-dried until the optimum moisture content is reached (around 12.5-13%). The dried coffee is then double hand-picked to remove any defects before being packed for export.

History of Coffee in Sumatra

Coffee seeds first arrived in Java from India in 1696, but it was a hit and miss; the first plantings were wiped out by floods. Take two, cuttings from Ceylon, arrived in 1699 with a guy named Hendrik. It is unclear when coffee planting came to Sumatra specifically. Java was the coffee king of Indonesia (aka the Dutch East Indies) for at least 100 years after cuttings first arrived from Ceylon before coffee of any significant volume was grown on other islands. And well into the 20th century, much of the coffee grown throughout Indonesia was called Java.

• Score: 84.5/100
• Grows: 1400-1600 m.a.s.l.
• Arabica: Castillo
• Process: Wet Hulled
• Tastes of spicy, dark chocolate & creamy

We ship coffee that has rested up to three weeks after roasting when available, and roast to order when needed. We ship coffee within a week of ordering.