Sumatra coffee has built an enormous reputation for flavor and taste around the world.
However, the history of Sumatra coffee began several centuries in the past.
Initial failures led to success, and despite this success, Sumatrans still use traditional coffee bean processing methods.
Add individual roasting methods to the wet hulling techniques used by islanders, and you get a unique Sumatra coffee known as Sumatra Mandheling.
The taste profile of this coffee is like no other around the world and compares to famous coffees from South America and Africa.
Indulge in the enticing flavors and aromas of Sumatra coffee, whether you like a medium or dark roast.
Either way, this coffee meets expectations.
History Of Sumatra Coffee
Sumatra is the most prolific producer of coffee in Indonesia, reaching volumes of over 74% of all the coffee produced across the region.
Sumatra is also the second biggest island in this republic, which has over 55 million people across these islands.
The second-largest crop in this country only stands at 12% of the total volume giving you an idea of just how important Sumatra coffee is throughout the world.
The Dutch government was the first to import coffee to Indonesia. Their first attempt to grow coffee seeds led to failure due to widespread flooding in Batavia.
Another shipment was sent to the island in 1699. By 1711, the beans were ready for harvesting and were transported to Europe via the Dutch East India Company.
During the Second World War and several centuries after the country first began growing coffee, Indonesia began replacing its coffee crops with other food sources.
After replacing many coffee crops with crops like cassava, rice, and corn, the coffee production in 1950 fell to one-eighth of pre-war harvest volumes.
Following the middle 20th-century production levels, Sumatra began increasing its coffee plantations to become a major player in this area.
As a result, the country now exports close to 70% of its harvest, generating almost $900 million annually.
Indonesia and Sumatra also focus on small sustainable farming projects to cultivate their massive coffee bean crops.
Of the plantations owned in Indonesia, 95% are smallholdings, with corporations only holding a small 5% share of the overall production.
Translating these figures means that more than two million smallholdings benefit from their own labor.
Furthermore, this level of sustainable farming enables small farmers to support their families from global sales of their coffee beans rather than large corporations taking the bulk of profits.
Although coffee beans are grown across multiple islands in Indonesia, the Sumatra Mandheling brand stands out from others.
The reason for the popularity of Sumatra coffee is partly in the way that farmers process the beans and partly due to the roasting methods.
Another reason why this coffee maintains its popularity is because of the Arabica bean’s flavor and partly due to the volcanic soil and weather in the area.
How Is Sumatra Coffee Processed?
Sumatra uses a distinctive coffee bean processing method, which is unlike the techniques that other countries use.
This method is known as giling basah, which is a wet hulling process. Immediately after harvesting the coffee berries, they go through de-pulping.
De-pulping involves an unsophisticated method of eliminating the bean parchment, simultaneously removing 50% of the bean’s moisture content.
In most other countries, only about 11 to 15% of the moisture is extracted from the cherries.
Smallholding owners and their families get stuck in to help with the processing.
They use large containers and wooden poles in a massive mortar and pestle style in the de-pulping activity.
This traditional method has survived decades of processing the coffee beans, and with corporations only owning a small percentage of coffee plantations, it is set to remain in place.
What is left of the cherries then goes into massive bags, which then ferment for over 12 hours.
Laborers then remove by hand whatever pulp remains the following day. Laborers then dry the beans in the open air under direct sunlight.
Farmers then sell the beans to buyers who transport them to storage units, where they remove additional layers of the parchment or hulls.
Finally, further drying takes place before exporting the beans to countries around the world.
Due to the processing techniques that Indonesian farmers apply, the coffee bean develops an intriguing appearance.
The color of the bean is a blue-green color, mimicking that of jade. This appearance is attributable to the gilling basah cultivation process.
The unorthodox technique of processing coffee beans in Sumatra and other areas of Indonesia is what gives the coffee its distinctive flavor.
Besides environmental factors such as soil in the various regions, which also influence the bean’s flavor, a combination of factors ensures that Sumatran coffee is famous worldwide.
The flavor of the bean is also less acidic, which adds to its allure. However, not everyone appreciates the earthy flavor produced with these crude techniques.
There are many though who enjoy the taste of these beans.
Also, not all Sumatran coffee beans undergo the same processing techniques.
For example, other parts of the region use a different washing and drying method, generating a different Sumatran coffee bean taste experience.
Because of the traditional wet hulling method, the beans must undergo roasting within three months after being harvested.
The wet hulling shortens the shelf life of the bean, and unless they are roasted within this period will probably attract mold and must be discarded.
Sumatra Coffee Roasting
After drying the beans for a third time at shipping ports, the beans are roasted in their country of destination.
Roasting them locally helps preserve the taste for longer, and often the Sumatran bean undergoes a hand roasting process until they are a deep, burnished hue.
Hand roasting this organic, Fair Trade produce extracts more of the rich flavor of the bean than using traditional roasting methods.
However, coffee processors also use this roasting method because of the multiple techniques of processing that the bean undergoes before reaching this stage.
Larger corporations like Starbucks use a different roasting technique to produce the rich dark roast the characterizes the Sumatran coffee bean.
For example, Starbucks purchases massive volumes of beans, dark roast them, and use them in espresso blends under the Sumatra roast label.
Dark roasting by corporations and artisanal coffee roasters removes much of the acid in the bean, allowing the rich flavors to reveal themselves.
The outcome is a complex flavor known as a “full city” roast, so you should opt for a medium to dark roast when purchasing these beans.
Another aspect of the Sumatran Mandheling dark roast is that the beans from the Batak region are highly popular.
This region surrounds the Mount Leuser volcano in the West Central area of Sumatra, with altitudes reaching from 2,500 to 5,000 feet above sea level.
Due to the heights of the slopes, Arabica coffee flourishes in cooler conditions.
Add to this aspect the highly nutritional soil surrounding the volcano, and the taste of the bean is unique.
Dark and medium roasting further improves the bean’s taste, generating intriguing spicy flavors intermingled with the earthy notes of the processing techniques.
If you enjoy the full-bodied flavor of dark roasted coffee beans, then Sumatra Mandheling coffee holds an appeal all its own.
The taste of the bean becomes fuller flavored, more robust, and satisfying the more protracted the roasting process.
Consequently, the flavor profile is unique to Sumatra and the surrounding islands of Indonesia and is something you don’t want to miss.
Taste Of Sumatra Coffee
The taste profile of Sumatra coffee is complex. The processing of the Arabica bean that grows on the slopes of the Mount Leuser volcano and other plantations in Indonesia adds to the intricacy of its taste.
Whether the bean undergoes medium or more extended, dark roasting, you get an array of flavors to titillate the palate.
Among the flavor nuances of the Sumatra coffee bean, you will find:
- Hints of leather
- Tastes of roasted nuts
- Low acidity
- Dark chocolate
- Traces of nutrient-rich volcanic soil
- Mushroom flavors
- Heady nuances of herbs and umami
- Clues of earthy green velvety moss
- A distinct sweet taste
- Notes of spiciness
The Sumatra coffee flavor has slowly evolved over time. The rich, full-body flavor is gradually giving way to lighter, refreshing notes that are somehow brighter than older, traditional brooding flavors.
Despite the common name of Mandheling, which many coffee lovers are familiar with, this name does not refer to a region in Sumatra.
Instead, Mandheling references the Batak tribe that lives in Sumatra. The Mandheling variety of Sumatra coffee grows on volcanic slopes and in the fields of Deli Serdang, Simalungun, and South Tapanuli.
Nowhere will you find the same or a similar flavor as Sumatra coffee beans.
This fact is often why it is popular to use Sumatra coffee beans in blends, as the flavor characteristics of the bean are so diverse.
The taste profile of Sumatra coffee is also wholly different from beans grown in other areas of Indonesia.
For example, crops grown in Sulawesi or Java differ vastly from those produced in Sumatra.
Another aspect that influences the taste profile of Sumatra coffee is the tropical climate.
Although most of the coffee belt is situated in tropical and sub-tropical regions, Sumatra coffee has its own unique taste due to volcanic soil and humid growing conditions.
Add to these elements the traditional processing methods that Sumatrans favor, and you have an original coffee that continues to impress enthusiasts.
How Best To Use Sumatra Coffee?
Sumatra coffee from the Goya region and Mount Leusner are among the most popular beans worldwide.
The smooth taste of bright green photosynthesized beans from these regions is primarily organic.
As sustainable and organic as many of the beans are from this region, organic farming starves the coffee plants of precious nutrients.
This practice is why the famous Mandheling Sumatra coffee is an excellent alternative to organic coffee from this part of the world.
Another reason for choosing an alternative brand is that organically grown coffees tend to be much pricier than those without this certification.
Whether you prefer a medium or dark Sumatra roast coffee, you can use the beans in multiple ways.
Either you can use them to add flavor to your meals while cooking or select diverse brewing methods to use these beans to your advantage.
Brewing techniques for Sumatra coffee include:
- Brewing coffee for lattes
- Making Frappuccino
- Using the dark roast for espresso
- Pour-over coffee
- Crème coffee
- French Press technique
- AeroPress brewing
- Drip coffee methods
- Cold or iced brews
- Frappe
- Black
- Traditional brew with milk or cream and sugar
Sumatra coffee is versatile and gives you a lift while imparting other health benefits, as noted earlier.
You can really use these beans any way you please, as long as the brew produces a delicious flavor that satisfies both the palate and the soul.
Sumatra coffee is versatile and gives you a lift while imparting other health benefits, as noted earlier.
You can really use these beans any way you please, as long as the brew produces a delicious flavor that satisfies both the palate and the soul.
It is also advisable to make Sumatra coffee by grinding your own beans to size.
Coffee experts further recommend the use of a burr coffee grinder rather than an electric blade.
Using a burr coffee grinder, it reaches down to the heart of the bean to extract the oily woody notes of the berry.
A different flavor prevails when using the burr blender rather than one with a blade.
Experts additionally advise using a fine mesh filter instead of using the paper filter for pour-over brews.
This method ensures you benefit from all the flavor of the oils, which the paper filter otherwise absorbs.
Both the Volcanica Sumatra Gayo and Starbucks Sumatra coffee brands are among the best uses of coffee beans from this region.
We suggest you try them out by using any of the coffee-making techniques above to enjoy your Sumatra coffee at its finest.
Conclusion
Sumatra coffee beans are among the finest in the world. Experiment with the spicey flavors of clove and cardamom in Volcanica or the deep, earthy tones of Starbucks Sumatra.
Most of all, be aware of your grinding methods and filters to ensure you gain the most from your mouthwatering brew.
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Last Updated on October 5, 2022 by Ashok Parmar
