All about Sumatra Coffee
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Sumatra Mandheling Coffee
Coffees from
Sumatra are known for smooth,
sweet body that is balanced and intense. Depending on the region, or blend of
regions, the flavors of the land and processing can be very pronounced. Notes
of cocoa, tobacco, smoke, earth and cedar wood can show well in the cup.
Occasionally, Sumatran coffees can show greater acidity, which balances the
body. This acidity takes on tropical fruit notes and sometimes an impression of
grapefruit or lime.
Mandheling is a trade name, used for Arabica coffee from northern
Sumatra. It was derived from the name of the Mandailing people, who produce coffee in
the Tapanuli region of
Sumatra. Mandheling
coffee comes from
Northern Sumatra, as well as
Aceh. Lintong
All Arabica coffee in
Indonesia
is picked by hand, whether it is grown by small-holders or on medium-sized
estates. After harvest, the coffee is processed in a variety of ways, each
imparting its own flavors and aromas to the final product.
Farming Coffee in
Sumatra
A small number of farmers in Sumatra, Flores and
Bali
use the most traditional method of all, dry processing. The coffee cherries are
dried in the sun, and then dehulled in a dry state.
Most farmers on Sulawesi, Sumatra,
Flores,
and Papua use a unique process, called “Giling Basah” (or Wet Hulling). In this
technique, farmers remove the outer skin from the cherries mechanically, using
rustic pulping machines, called “luwak”. The coffee beans, still coated with
mucilage, are then stored for up to a day. Following this waiting period, the
mucilage is washed off and the coffee is partially dried for sale.
Collectors and processors then hull the coffee in a semi-wet state, which
gives the beans a distinctive bluish-green appearance. This process reduces
acidity and increases body, resulting in the classic Indonesian cup profile.
Larger processing mills, estates and some farmer’s cooperatives on Sumatra,
Java, Sulawesi and
Bali produce “fully washed”
coffee.
One of the most unique coffees of
Sumatra
The most unusual form of coffee processing in
Indonesia
is “Kopi Luwak”. This coffee is processed by the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus
hermaphoditus). The animals eat ripe coffee cherries and their digestive
process removes the outer layers of the fruit. The remaining coffee beans are
collected and washed. Coffee experts believe that the unique flavor of Kopi
Luwak comes, at least in part, from the extraction of natually occurring