Indonesian Sumatra is a coffee that is grown on the islands of Indonesia at altitudes of 750-2000 meters above sea level. Its one of those special coffees with lots of stability and takes a lot of milk without losing its flavor.Indonesian Sumatra is named after the people who live in the region where it is cultivated.
Indonesia Sumatra coffees have a smooth feel and a unique herbal aroma which is not found in South American or African coffees. To order a pack of this wonderful coffee click here
Characteristics of Indonesian Sumatra
Full bodied mouth feel with a rich complex taste
Has a rich earthy tasting notes with an intense herbal aroma
It has just enough acidity to exhibit a vibrancy that is second nature to this coffee
It has taste notes of sweet chocolate with Licorice.
it has a flavor of clean earthy, woody, spicy, chocolate and herbal.
Its taste notes are well developed due to the rich volcanic soil where it is grown in a tropical climate,this is despite the fact that it is not grown in high altitudes
History of Indonesian Coffee:
Coffee first came to Indonesia when the Dutch Governor of Yemeni sent some seedlings to the Dutch governor of Batavia( now Jakarta) in 1696, these first set of seedlings failed due to flooding at Batavia at that time. In 1699 another set was sent, these set thrived and grew and by 1711 the first coffee export was sent to Europe from the port of Java. Indonesia is home to the famous Java coffee that is the rave now. Since then, Indonesian has grown to become the worlds fourth largest producer of Coffee as at 2014.They produced 540,000 Metric tons of Coffee in 2014 alone.
Coffee types in Indonesia
Indonesia has various coffee types,which are grouped into two varieties of Arabica Beans and Robusta beans. Indonesia coffees produce 25% Arabica beans, while the rest is Robusta Beans. Here are the various types of coffee found in Indonesia. From the line up below, we can tell that Indonesia is indeed a Land full of diverse types of coffee.
Sumtra( Can be Mandhelling, Lingtong, Gayo
Java
Bali
Sulawesi
Tambora
Flores
Papua
Processing:
It is often wet processed with hot water washing to remove the dry cherry husk, this provides a more uniform appearance of the coffee bean and helps to develop its fine flavor. It is then sun dried before packing
Roasting Indonesian Sumatra coffee beans
The Indonesian Sumatra coffee beans will retains its different nuanced flavors at medium roasts but if you want to taste the intense spicy notes then a dark roast will be the way to go. Indonesian coffees unlike other coffees are able to take dark roasts without loosing its flavor. It is rich heavy body becomes much more pronounced as you roast it .
To enjoy the rich earthy, woody and spicy flavor, its better to order a dark roast or a medium to dark roast, as the flavors are more developed with this type of roasts.
Brewing
Indonesian Sumatra coffees are often used for cold brewed espresso coffee blends, a drink which is perfect for this summer. To achieve a perfect grind, its better you use a grinder burr instead of a blade grinder. You can check out our several types of coffee grinders in the store. A special mini electric grinder which has an adjustable burr is on the shop right now, so please get it for your perfect grind of coffee beans.
To get the best of your coffee, its always advised to use non paper filters when filtering the coffee this is to ensure that you retain a lot of the oils from the coffee bean which contains the flavors, the body and taste.
Depending on what type of brewer you are using , you will get different results, if you are using a French Press brewer like the one featured in our online store that means you want all the oils and flavors retained but where you use the pour over method i.e using the chemex brewer, the paper filter often removes a lot of the oils.
Which ever method suits you, the main point Is to enjoy your good cup of coffee while getting encouraged as you buy from us.
If you want to know what our encouragement podcasts look like, head on to your podcast page and listen in.
Tidbits about the Indonesian people
The biggest ethnic group in Indonesia is the Javanese people they make up 41% of the Indonesian population, of course the famous Java coffee is named after them
There are over 300 ethnic groups in Indonesia, 200 of them have Native Indonesian ancestry
Indonesians are genetically said to be close to Asians, there skin colors vary from fair skinned to yellowish undertones to dark brown tones
The most popular music of the East Javanese people and Bali is Gamelan
Indonesia shares its border with Malaysia, they also have Malay as an ethnic group.