This Sumatra checks all the boxes that we aim for when bringing a new coffee into our line up! Farming, harvesting and processing are all done with the goal of creating a sustainable, responsible and rewarding life for the farmers and locals.
AgroTropic, founded by conservation expert Pak Suki Anto, has its Sungai Lintang Coffee facility at the foot of Mount Kerinici. The group has been working with local farmers since 2009 and providing them with seedlings — it distributed 50,000 to 38 farmers initially and two years later distributed nearly 180,000 seedlings to nearly 800 local farmers, who intercrop the coffee with cinnamon, tea, potatoes and vegetables.
Agronomists also work with the farmers on planting, pruning, harvesting and composting techniques, as well as on “alley cropping,” which encourages the planting of coffee trees spread two arms’ width apart, to allow in light and air. They also visit with the farmers at least once a month, to check in and help them keep standards high.
When ripe cherries arrive at the Sungai Lintang facility, the crews start cleaning and pulping them and put the fresh, wet parchment into water fermentation tanks for a minimum of 12 hours. The parchment is then washed and sun-dried on patios, as well as in temperature- and humidity-controlled greenhouses with raised beds.
Afterward, the beans are sorted first with a mechanical gravity separator and then a second time by hand.
Origin: Mount Kerinci, Kerinci Highlands, Sumatra
Varietal: Arabica
Process: Wet Hulled
Cupping Notes: Black tea, cedar, chocolate, earthy