Organic Sumatra Coffee – Wicked Joe

Rich, earthy, peppery, heavy body, syrupy, dark chocolate finish.

Sumatra, an island in western Indonesia known in ancient times as the “Island of Gold”, is the sixth largest island in the world, but probably one of the least visited. The Dutch brought coffee from Yirgacheffe to Indonesia in the 17th century. Coffee trees are planted in the extreme northwestern province of Aceh in virgin, highly organic, volcanic soil which is extremely fertile.Small-holders grow Arabica coffee in the highland region of Gayo under diverse tree species for shade. This area produces 90% organic coffee by default. They also produce a larger bean size and grow these Strictly Hard Bean coffees at altitudes up to 1900m. The cultivar of this coffee is Hybrido da Timor, and is processed using the wet-hulling method. Gayo Mountain Mill is located in Takengon. Dutch Aid originally built the mill about 20 years ago. It is surrounded by a compound including 22 homes, drying patios, 23 fermentation tanks and processing for washed, semi-pulped and natural coffees. The Dutch had seen washing mills in Africa and Latin America and then duplicated one in Aceh. The people of this region yearn for independence from Indonesia and hope to follow East Timor in this regard. Consequently, fighting escalated between insurgents and government troops.The mill managed to stay open during the war, despite the attacks, hostages taken and hijacked containers. Due to political and social unrest in the area, Gayo Mountain tries to maintain a stable and rewarding environment for its employees.The majority have been there for 20 plus years. Turnover is rare and salaries have increased. Currently, plans are underway to build a health clinic, nursery, school and playground. The main Cooperative in the region, Tunas Indah, has their main office inside the compound. Tunas Indah has over 5000 growers each averaging one hectare.The harvest generally happens from May to October. Most of Sumatra used to be covered by tropical rainforest, but economic development coupled with corruption and illegal logging has severely threatened its existence. Conservation areas have not been spared from destruction, either. 12 OZ Bag.