Fresh Roasted Coffee

SUMATRA COFFEE


sumatra coffee

Sumatra Coffee: Sumatra Mandheling coffees are famous around the world for their heavy body and syrupy, chocolatey after-tones. It's almost a dessert for those who take cream and sugar!

WHAT OUR IMPORTER HAS TO SAY ABOUT SUMATRAN COFFEE:

Sumatra coffee captures the wild jungle essence of this tropical Indonesian island. We cup Sumatra after Sumatra to find that earthy, deep, complex, full-bodied coffee that exhibits low-acidity smoothness and a touch of forest floor funk. A great Sumatran is creamy, sweet, with a touch of butterscotch, spice, and mustiness. (Yes, mustiness, not jungle rot. This is where cupping Sumatran after Sumatran pays off Big!)

Sumatra coffee is a beautiful deep blue-green color with the appearance of jade. There is a tendency to over roast Sumatrans (along with other dry processed wild coffees) as they do not show much roast color, and roast unevenly. Sometime the beans will look uneven and funky green. This is not a problem, however, or a sign of bad beans. Quality in the cup is what matters, or should matter, not mere appearance of beans.

The coffee is hand sorted, and come in single-picked, double- picked, and even triple-picked lots. Since Sumatran's are dry processed and often laid out to dry on the dirt in small villages, sorting the coffee is essential to take out the sticks and stones that the beans inevitably acquire, but triple picking does not necessarily improve the quality of cup. In fact, we sometimes find that over-picked beautiful polished coffees are sometimes bland in the cup.

PROFILE FOR SUMATRAN COFFEE

Origin: Sumatra

Geographic Coordinates: 5 00 S, 120 00 E

Population: 228,437,870

Cup Profile: Full Bodied, Low Acid, Earthy

Currency: Indonesian rupiah

Language: Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese.

Ethnic Groups: Javanese 45%, Sundanese 14%, Madurese 7.5%, coastal Malays 7.5%, other 26%

Production: (millions lbs.) 1,033,956,000

Exports: (millions lbs.) 671,088,000

Botanical Varieties: Sumatra Arabica

Growing Regions: Aceh around Laut Tawar Lake. Lake Toba region,Lintong Nihuta, Sumbul, Takengon.

Wet Processed: NA

Dry Processed: Dry process (some Indonesian semi-washed)

Altitude: Meters 800-1500

Introduced: Introduced by the Dutch in 17th Century.

Harvest Times: Oct-Mar


Go To The Specialty-Coffee-Advisor Home Page!