Sumatra Coffee Bean
Almost 60% of Indonesia’s production of arabica coffee is produced on the island of Sumatra. Arabica coffee from this western-most island is intriguing and complex. With the exception of a private estate in the Sidikalang area (southwest of Lake Toba), all coffees are processed as per the giling basah method. Arabica coffee is produced on the island of Sumatra in different regions.
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| Sumatra Map |
Aceh
The most northern production area is in the highlands around Lake Laut Tawar in the centre of the autonomous province of Aceh. This area is also referred to as the Gayo Mountains, named after the local inhabitants. Arabica coffee from this region, grown on an altitude of 1100 – 1300 metres, is known for its heavy body, low acidity and occasionally earthy tones. It is a coffee with an intense flavour, with faint tobacco, cocoa or vanilla notes. The average yearly production amounts to 35,000 tonnes, which corresponds to around 60% of Sumatra’s total arabica production.
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| Wet parchment just before hulling |
All coffee is produced by smallholders, each owning an average of a single hectare on which they produce up to 1,000 kg per year (which corresponds to around 700 kgs exportable quality). Mostly, this is 100% organic coffee. During the past ten years, many smallholders in the Gayo Mountain area have formed cooperatives, which has strengthened their position towards independent collectors and which paved the way for them to become Fairtrade and/or organic certified. The crop season in the Gayo highlands runs from October/November till May/June. Shipment of new crop coffee normally starts in November/December.
Lake Toba
The second region of Sumatra producing arabica coffee is the highlands around Lake Toba, a massive crater lake in the north of the island. The highlands consist of weathered volcanic soils that incorporate significant important micro-nutrients most suitable for the cultivation of coffee.
Sumatra Lintong arabica
On the hills at the eastern part of Lake Toba (from south to north) the famous Sumatra Lintong arabica is produced,
often by farmers belonging to the Batak, a collective term used to identify a number of ethnic groups found in North Sumatra with distinct, albeit related, languages and customs, very different from other ethnic groups. The name Lintong comes from the town of Lintong Nihuta, where the Lintong coffee, hand-pulped and dried by the farmers, is brought to market. Lintong coffee is grown at altitudes between 800 and 1,500 metres, and the way the coffee is processed is similar to the way the coffee is processed further north in the Gayo Mountains. Unlike the wet hulled arabica from the Gayo Mountains, however, Lintong coffee has a slightly higher acidity, while still keeping an excellent body. The coffee often is brisk, a little tangerine-like and much appreciated by those who are looking for a coffee with heavy body but without the earthy tones that a wet hulled arabica from the Gayo
Mountains often has.
Sidikalang arabica
West of Lake Toba, Sidikalang arabica is produced, named after a small town in the Pak- Pak Barat region. The altitude is the same as for Lintong coffee, between 800 and 1,500 metres. Although located near to the Lintong area, Sidikalang arabica has a different flavour profile, and is closer to a classic Mandheling. The area has its own special long bean type, a form of typica, also called Sidikalang. This cultivar is found less and less frequently in Sumatra. Total annual production around Lake Toba is estimated to be around 15,000 tonnes. As further north, all coffee is produced by smallholders. Much of the coffee produced is 100% organic. Unlike their colleagues in the Gayo Mountain area, farmers around Lake Toba have barely formed cooperatives. As a result, fairtrade and/or organic certified coffees from the Lake Toba area are much less available as they are from the Lake Laut Tawar area. Almost all coffee produced in northern Sumatra is physically routed via the city of Medan and shipped via the port of Belawan.
Most exporters first bring the coffee to their warehouse (gudang) in Medan to further dry the coffee, and then sort, handpick and bag the coffee before filling a container for export. In this way they make sure that the quality of the coffee matches the quality contracted. Wet-hulled arabica coffee from North Sumatra is often referred to as Sumatra Mandheling arabica. In fact, the word ‘Mandheling’ is a derivation of the name of the Mandailing people from the Tapanuli region of Sumatra, located south of Lake Toba. It is said that a Japanese soldier, when stationed in Sumatra during WWII, once asked a local Sumatran from where his coffee originated. The man mistakenly thought he was asked about his ethnicity and replied “Mandailing”. Returning back to Sumatra in 1969 as coffee buyer, the former Japanese soldier asked for his ’Mandheling’ coffee. A trade name was born. Mandailing is also a region in West Sumatra. Many years ago, this region produced arabica coffee as well. After harvesting, the farmers pulped their coffee, after which they dried the coffee, keeping the coffee in parchment for many months before selling it to collectors. Hulling was only done shortly before the coffee was to be made export ready. As such, this coffee was completely different from that produced by the wet hulling method. The coffee was known as Sumatra Arabica DP. Today, this denomination now stands for dry processed coffee from many parts of Indonesia, gathered by local exporters in their warehouses in Medan or Surabaya. Sumatra Arabica DP is appreciated by roasters as a heavy bodied coffee for blending, especially when it is at least one crop old. This coffee, however, is not classified as a speciality coffee.
