Description
Indonesia
Kerinci Gunung Tujuh Sumatra Anaerobic Honey
With this Anaerobic Honey lot, Barokah cooperative is trying to add to the country’s rich tradition by diversifying their processing methods. This innovative lot applies Anaerobic Honey processing for a boozy, fruity cup profile.
COFFEE GRADE: Kerinci Gr. 1
FARM/COOP/STATION: Koerintji Barokah Bersama
VARIETAL: Andung Sari, Sigarar Utang
PROCESSING: Anaerobic Honey
ALTITUDE: 1,400 to 1,700 meters above sea level
OWNER: 320 members of Koerintji Barokah Bersama Cooperative
SUBREGION/TOWN: Gunung Tujuh
REGION: Kerinci, Sumatra
FARM SIZE: <2.5 hectares on average
BAG SIZE: 30kg GrainPro
HARVEST MONTHS: Sumatra: April-June (main crop) & Nov-Jan; year-round (fly crop)
About this coffee
The 320 members of the Koerintji Barokah Bersama Cooperative live and farm on a plateau that sits at the foot of Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra. Mount Kerinci is one of the many volcanoes in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a 40,000-kilometer horseshoe-shaped series of 452 volcanoes that are part of an almost constant dance of eruptions and plate movements. Mount Kerinci’s historic eruptions have assured that the surrounding area is lush and verdant with a deep supply of fertile volcanic soil.
The cooperative is managed by Triyono, who leads members in processing and roasting their own coffees. They have a fully outfitted roasting facility, including a cupping lab, next to the dry mill. This is especially impressive considering the cooperative was founded in mid-2017!
Cultivation
Almost all farms on Sumatra are small. On average, farms are between 0.5 to 2.5 hectares. Coffee is usually the primary cash crop for farmers, but most also intercrop their trees alongside vegetables, potatoes and fruit. This intercropped produce will make up a substantial part of the family’s diet for the year.
In addition to growing coffee as a cash crop, many smallholder farmers also work as hired labourers at nearby tea plantations. Like coffee, tea is a huge cash crop in the area. The bigger tea plantations are often near coffee farms. When the coffee harvest is finished, coffee farmers will go there and pick tea leaves under contracted labour.
There are more and more initiatives by farmers on Sumatra to organize themselves into cooperatives. In the past, farmers did not have much leverage to get better prices for their cherry or parchment. In cooperatives, they can share resources, organize training and negotiate better prices.
Harvest & post-harvest
During the harvest season, coffee is hand-picked. Usually, most labour is supplied by the immediate family.
After picking, the coffee will be delivered to a UPH collection centre. A UPH is a collection centre where coffee cherries are purchased by the cooperative and where the coffee is processed before moving it to the central mill. Essentially, a UPH functions as a small washing station. Triyono oversees the activities on and around nine UPH stations owned by the cooperative.
To streamline the operation, there is an agriculturalist providing technical assistance to make sure the same, standard procedures are used to process cherry at each of the different stations. Each UPH is located in a different area and receives cherries from different farmer groups.
With this Anaerobic Honey lot, coffee is first floated and separated by density before being laid on raised beds where workers remove under-ripes, over-ripes and damaged cherry. Then, ripe cherry is collected again and sealed in airtight, 20kg plastic bags that are stored in a cool, dry location (with temperatures between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius) for 7 days.
After 7 days, cherry is pulped and then laid again on raised beds to dry. The beds are located in domes that protect the coffee from rain or harsh sunlight. The parchment will dry here for around 20 to 23 days. When dry, the coffee is milled and sorted by hand.
Members of the coop have a fixed buyer for their cherries. At the end of the year, the coop invests its profits in either infrastructure to increase quality or shares them as quality premiums with the member producers.
Farmers also receive technical support and seedlings for shade trees to plant on and around their farms.
Coffee in Indonesia
Indonesia has a long coffee producing history, but recently their coffees have been overlooked by the specialty market. Thanks to our innovative and ever-expanding supply chain, we are proud to bring you high-quality coffees from many of Indonesia’s unique regions, accompanied by in-depth traceability information.
Indonesia is perhaps best known for its unique wet hulling process (giling basah). Though its exact origins are unclear, wet hulling most likely originated in Aceh during the late 1970s.
Wet hulling’s popularity can be attributed to producers’ need for prompt payments. It was also adopted specifically by many producers who lacked the drying infrastructure that was needed to shelter drying parchment from the high humidity and inconsistent rainfall typical in Sumatra. At higher elevations with constant humidity and unpredictable rainfall, drying can prove to be slow, risky and difficult.
Tree planting
Sucafina Specialty, who supply this coffee to Bell’s Beans, is partnering with Rikolto and the Koerintji Barokah Bersama cooperative to donate shade trees in Indonesia! Every sack of Kerinci Gunung Tujuh Sumatra coffee that is purchased will generate a donation of 1 avocado tree to Barokah member farmers.
Information and pictures sourced from Sucafina specialty coffee
How to store coffee at home
To keep your coffee as fresh as possible, you need to protect your coffee from air, sunlight, heat, and moisture. These all will contribute to making it stale and lose flavour.
We suggest keeping your coffee in an airtight container, in a cool, dry cupboard. Our bags all have a de-gassing valve, to let out CO2 that the beans produce once roasted, it’s not just there to sniff the coffee, and a reusable ziplock. So if you don’t have a fancy coffee jar just push the air out the bag, zip the lock and give the bag another squeeze to get any remaining air out.
Do not store your coffee in the fridge. Roasted coffee absorbs moisture from the air (hygroscopic) and will also take up surrounding aromas. The aromas and moisture levels in the fridge will react with the coffee and delicate flavours will deteriorate.
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