Indonesia CoE #18

Producer Roberto Bagus Syaputra
Coop Koperasi Ribang Gayo Musara
Island Sumatra
Region Aceh
Regency Gayo Lues Regency

Sun Exposure Mixed
Farm Size 2ha
Altitude 1,500-1,700masl
Latitude 4.472097
Longitude 96.747131

Variety Ateng 30% & P-88 70%
Process Washed
Fermentation 24hr Dry
Drying Raised beds in greenhouses for 15 days

Harvest year 2022/23

Flavor Maple Syrup, Honey, Cinnamon, Clove, Dark Chocolate, Apricot, Mandarin Orange, Pecan, Vanilla
Descriptors Very sweet and syrupy. Underlying complex brown spice and floral aromas.

About this coffee Bagus Syaputra is a native Gayonese living deep within in the highlands of Central Aceh, where he has a small coffee farm among his other crops. The Gayo people are an ethnic group predominantly residing in the western mountains of Sumatra, one of the larger islands that make up the island nation of Indonesia. Coffee cultivation was first introduced to the island of Sumatra in the late 1800s by the Dutch East India Company, and by 1924 coffee cultivation began around Lake Laut Tawar in Central Aceh. Originally grown as part of the Dutch system of taxation, coffee became a valuable cash crop for the Gayo people after independence in 1949.

Bagus' farm is in Pantan Musara, Central Aceh, 5km from the Ribang Gayo Musara Co-op founded by Asman Arianto in 2018. The Co-op focuses on Washed, Honeys and Naturals rather than strictly the traditional Wet Hulled or gilling basah method commonly found throughout Indonesia. After harvesting, Bagus takes his coffee to the Co-op for sorting and processing where this particular lot had 24 hours of fermentation before being washed and slowly dried in the cool mountain air on raised beds in greenhouses for 15 days.

Almost all of producers in Sumatra grow coffee as a cash crop alongside vegetables, maize and other fruits on small farms between 0.5-2.5 hectares. Indonesia itself has a long coffee producing history and hasn't always been widely accepted as a producing nation of high-quality coffees or “ultra” specialty. Starting in 2021 the Alliance for Coffee Excellence has held Cup of Excellence competitions to help change some of the perception around Indonesian coffees, and the success of these competitions has brought much needed money and attention to the local farmers in the region. Because coffee plays such a large role in terms of income for the Gayo people, Bagus has participated each year in the competition, and he hopes that prices for local farmers continue to increase as well as become less volatile.

The coffee itself is terrifically sweet with subtle underlying complexities of brown spices and florals, and showcases some of the complexities found in outstanding micro-lots from Sumatra.

Our current roasting schedule is Monday through Wednesday and best enjoyed 14 days after roast date.