Organic Sumatra Gayo Mandheling Grade 1

Coffee grows in the northern highlands, in areas known as Tapanuli, Aceh and Gayo; and further south at Lintong, near lake Toba (one of the deepest in the world). Mandheling is not a region, but a people of northern Sumatra, and much coffee from that area is named after them. Most coffee in Sumatra is grown between 2,500 and 5,500 feet, and nearly all coffee is grown by smallholders coffee farmers. Nine out of 10 coffee farmers in Sumatra grow coffee on less than one hectare of land. Virtually all Sumatran coffee is wet hulled, a process known as “giling basah”. Plant Species include Bergandal and Sidikalang varieties of Typica, Hibrido de Timor (aka "Tim Tim"), a Bourbon cultivar known as Linie S, S-288 and S-795 found in Lintong, Rambung, Abyssinia, "USDA,” Caturra cultivars and Catimor lines.

Wet-hulling, or giling basah, is the traditional method used in Indonesia. And although both the name and the method are very similar to wet processing, the cup characteristics are incredibly different. Sumatra’s smallholder supply chain is a complicated process. Notably, processing is typically not overseen by a single individual or team; instead, coffee moves task by task through different parties before reaching its final, fully-dried, state.

Coffee farms in Bener Meriah average 0.5-2 hectares each. Every village with cooperative members has a collector (or more) who receives fresh-picked cherry for washed processing each day. Once a batch of coffee has been de-pulped, fermented overnight, washed clean, and then sun-dried to the touch, each collector then delivers the batch to one of the cooperatives local hulling stations. It is here where the coffee is mechanically hulled of its parchment, leaving behind just the soft, high-moisture coffee bean (thus earning the term “wet-hulled”), all of which is spread out on large patios and tarpaulins to continue drying until the coffee reaches an internal moisture content of 13-14%. Each handoff is orchestrated by the cooperative, and the members’ coffee is traced throughout each step of the chain. Final, dried coffee is hand-sorted multiple times to Grade 1 standards prior to export.

Wet hulling is a process devised in Sumatra and adopted throughout the region as a solution to rainy, humid conditions that make drying green coffee a challenge. Typically, farmers depulp freshly picked cherries, ferment overnight, and wash the seeds before selling to a mill or collector only partially dried. The coffee's husk (parchment) is removed at a much earlier stage than in a standard washed process, while the green seed is still soft and pliable. Great care is needed to prevent excessive damage. After milling, the coffee seeds are then finally dried until optimum moisture content is reached.

Aceh (pronounced AH-CHEY) is the northernmost province of Sumatra and the local city of Takengon, and is considered to be the epicenter of one of the world’s most unique coffee terroirs due to its isolated heirloom set of typica and catimor-based cultivars, its uniquely fertile microclimates, the land husbandry, and its tradition of wet-hulled processing. Coffee farms in this area are managed with the experience of many generations of cultivation, while also harmoniously woven into their surrounding tropical forests. The canopies are loud and fields are almost impenetrably thick with coffee and fruit trees and vegetables, all of which are constantly flushing with new growth. Year-round mists and rain showers never cease, farm floors are spongy and deep with compost, and almost every square meter of the region seems to exude life.