Sumatra Aceh

Origin

• 🇮🇩 Indonesia· Aceh

Tasting notes

Aceh, in northern Sumatra, is an incredible region for coffee production. The average farm is one hectare, 80% of producers within northern Sumatra are women, and 95% of producers are smallholdersSmallholderA farmer growing coffee on a small family plot — often under two hectares. Most of the world's coffee is grown this way, typically pooled at cooperatives or washing stations.. The region is diverse, geographically speaking. It is surrounded by beaches with a swampy inland, and the Barisan Mountains make up the inner two-thirds of the area. Coffee is grown on this volcanic mountain amongst the rainforest. One of the notable features of this area is Lake Taboa, the largest volcanic lake in the world. Koperasi Produsen Putra Tani Berkarya (KPPTB) is a cooperative founded in 2022 by the younger generation of farmers in the regions of Bener Meriah and Aceh Tengah (Central Aceh). Members live in or near nine villages in the area. Farms are traditionally passed down from generation to generation. The coop currently consists of around 708 farmers.The Bener Meriah and Central Aceh regions are famous for producing Gayo coffee because of their cool climate, large hills, and volcanic soil. There is an active volcano in the area. KPPTB has its own processing unit with a drying area, huller, suton, sorting room, and storage room. The coop collects fresh-picked red cherries from its farmer members and brings them to the unit to be processed. They work hard to maintain a high quality for each export. Sumatran coffees have long been distinct for their earthy, savory, somewhat vegetal or herbaceous characteristics, in part contributed by the climate and the mix of varieties grown, but also due to a specific post-harvest processing style called Wet-Hulling, or locally known as Giling BasahWet-hulledIndonesian method (giling basah) where parchment is stripped while the seed is still wet, then dried bare. Gives the earthy, spicy, heavy-bodied profile classic to Sumatra., which imparts much of the unique qualities these coffees have.Before the 1970s, coffees in Sumatra were processed in the two most commonly found methods worldwide: washedWashed processThe fruit is removed from the seed before drying, usually with fermentation and a water rinse. Tends to give clean, transparent cups where origin character shows clearly. and naturalNatural processThe whole cherry is dried with the fruit still on the seed. Gives heavier body and big fruit flavors — think berries and wine — sometimes with a fermenty edge.. In the 1970s, Japanese interest in Sumatran coffees led to the introduction of the Wet-Hulled process, a unique style of handling and drying that is largely responsible for Sumatran coffees’ unmi