Sumatra Vintage (Aged 48 months)

Toasted marshmallow, pipe tobacco, leather, cedar
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Bag Weight 60 KG BAG
Harvest Season 2019/20
Status Spot
Lot Number P605450-1
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About This Coffee

This is a wet hulled Sumatran coffee which has been aged and homogenized for at least 48 months at origin until the coffee reaches a deep brown color and a cup reminiscent of a quality brandy with smooth heavy tobacco note. Wet Hulling: Coffee cherries are run through hand pulpers to remove the outer skin and most of the pulp. The coffee is then soaked in water overnight, making it easier to wash off the remaining then dried for a few hours to a moisture level of 50%. Before being sold to buyers who take it to a mill with a “wet hulling” machine. They wait for the coffee to lose another 20% moisture. A wet huller works like a dry parchment huller except it applies greater friction and is designed to operate in a wetter environment. After wet hulling, the green coffee is laid out to finish drying. 

Country of Origin Indonesia
Harvest Season 2019/20
Coffee Grade IDN CA WA AG
Processing Wet Hulled

History of Sumatran Coffee 

Coffee seeds first arrived in Java from India in 1696, but it was a swing and a miss; the initial plantings were wiped out by flooding. Take two, cuttings from Ceylon, arrived in 1699 with a guy named Hendrik. It’s unclear when coffee planting arrived in Sumatra specifically. Java was the coffee king of Indonesia (aka the Dutch East Indies) for at least 100 years after cuttings first arrived from Ceylon before coffee of any significant volume was grown on other islands. And well into the 20th century, much coffee grown throughout Indonesia was called Java. 

Growing Coffee in Sumatra 

Coffee grows in the northern highlands, in an 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, but 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 farmer. 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. 

  • Processing Wet Hulled
  • Processing Description Traditional Wet Hull (Giling Basah) followed by controlled ageing for 48+ months
  • On Sale No
  • Top Lot No
  • Status Spot
  • Coffee Grade IDN CA WA AG
  • CTRM Contract Number P605450-1
  • Country of Origin Indonesia
  • Warehouse The Annex