Sumatra Coffee

Location Batak Region of West-Central Sumatra, Aceh
Altitude 2,500 - 5,000 ft. Varieties Catimor, Typica
Process Giling Basah (wet-hulled)
Drying Sun Dried 
Harvest June - December

Once lost to the jungles of Sumatra, this gourmet coffee was rediscovered after a dramatic history of hardship. It took almost 100 years for this varietal to be rediscovered, hidden amongst the lush jungle undergrowth in the heart of Sumatra.

Since, then, these Arabica coffee beans have been replanted in the Mandheling Province of West Sumatra, which is now one of the highly recognized gourmet coffee producers in the world.

Sumatra Mandheling coffee has a syrupy body with hints of chocolate and brown sugar. It is well-known for its smooth and full-bodied flavor that is both earthy and complex. Rich in history and rich in flavor, these coffee beans are legendary in the world of Sumatran coffee.

Producer Bio

Most Sumatran coffees are processed in a unique way. From the point, the coffee is picked and the cherry skin pulped off, the process follows the way it is done for most washed coffees produced around the world.

As with these other washed coffees, fermentation is complete when the fruit surrounding the parchment has dissolved and the fruit-free parchment rinsed off. At this point, the bean within the parchment still has a very high moisture content. In almost all washed coffee origins, before the parchment is hulled, it is dried, either in the sun or in machine dryers. So herein lies the difference; in most places, the bean is dried in the parchment and the parchment is milled off the beans when they are dry not in Sumatra. In Sumatra, the bean is still very wet when the parchment is hulled. The bean comes out of the parchment quite soft, white, and spongy.

This is where the term "Wet Hulled" or "Giling Basah" comes from.

These wet, soft beans are then sun-dried. Typically, the drying conditions in Sumatra include on-and-off sessions of the fierce tropical sun, interrupted regularly by torrential thundershowers. This slow, inconsistent drying is what provides the essence of a Sumatra Mandheling, both in flavor and appearance.