FILTER OF THE MONTH: Good Coffee - Sumatra Aceh Natural Carbonic Maceration Filter 250 g

Whole-bean specialty coffee from Indonesia, roasted by Good Coffee roasting brand. Light roast, perfect for filter coffee machines, drippers, Chemex, AeroPress, French Press, and other pour-over brewing methods. The brew resembles the flavour of guava, watermelon and raspberry.

Country: Indonesia (Sumatra)

Region: Pantan Musara, Aceh

Producer: Hendra Maulizar, Asman Arianto

Farm: Hendra Maulizar/Ribang Gayo

Processing: Natural Carbonic Maceration

Altitude: 1600 m a.s.l.

Variety: P88, Ateng, Abbyssinia, Catimor, Typica

ABOUT THE PRODUCERS AND THE FARM

It is hard to find coffee from more renowned producers in Indonesian Sumatra. A blend of beans from Hendra Maulizar and Asman Arianto, who started the specialty revolution on the island. Both started with small fields and selling fruit to the mass market. In the early 2000s, both decided to switch to producing high-quality coffee and processing fruit from surrounding farmers. And both live in the same village of Pantan Musara near Lake Takengon.

The revolution they started consisted of being the first to depart from the traditional Sumatran processing method, gilling basah, which minimized the fruit drying time due to the humid local climate and unfortunately resulted in a coffee flavor that was not good. Asman and Hendra tried natural processing (whole fruits are dried for a long time, and finally, the dry pulp and skin are removed) and washed processing (skin and pulp are removed from the fruits immediately, and the prepared beans are dried this way), and they began experimenting with fermentations. The result turned out to be excellent.

Today, they work with trusted farmers who cultivate and harvest with proper care.You should know that Hendra and Asman are very demanding - of themselves and others. Hendra personally supervises his workers almost every day during the harvest season; he is a perfectionist. Asman is a Cup of Excellence winner. It is also worth mentioning that their path to where they are now was not easy. Asman came to Aceh from around Berastagi after a local volcano awakened and many people were displaced. Hendra arrived in Aceh with his father, who moved here to grow coffee - initially, they had only 1 hectare of land and struggled with many difficulties. It is also worth emphasizing that both support the farmers they work with, share knowledge and access to exporters, and are known for their high work ethic. What does this mean? For instance, they pay farmers immediately for delivered fruit, which is unfortunately not so obvious in the coffee world.  

ROASTER'S OPINION

Our blend consists of a full spectrum of varieties characteristic of Aceh, including some you won't find outside of Indonesia. Each of them influences the final profile of the coffee, but roasting them together presents a significant challenge. The coffee composition includes: P88, Ateng, Abyssinia, Catimor, and Typica. Farmers grow them not only for their flavor qualities, but high yields and resistance to diseases or pests also matter.P88 comes from Colombia, from where it was brought to Sumatra; it can also be found on the island of Java. Catimor and the related Ateng are varieties known for their resistance to fruit disease; Ateng is a typical Indonesian hybrid. Abyssinia - almost unseen outside of blends - is a variety brought to Indonesia from Ethiopia in the early 20th century. Indonesian Typica arrived in Indonesia from Yemen - likely back in the 17th century. It is a very old variant of this variety, almost unseen in Indonesia outside of Sumatra. Probably each of these varieties separately would not yield such a good effect as they create in a blend, offering flavor intensity, sweetness, body, acidity, and earthy notes characteristic of Sumatra.

When it comes to roasting beans from Sumatra, it is always a great pleasure for us, because for many years we have had an undisguised weakness for coffees from that region of the world and we love drinking them. But at the same time, it is a big challenge, because it means roasting several varieties in one drum, each behaving differently during the roasting process (which is why you will find beans of various shapes and shades of brown in the bag). The second difficulty lies in the fact that the beans from there are internally not very dense, and consequently very delicate and easy to "over-roast." When roasting coffee, we always strive to make its taste as balanced as possible. The roast cannot be too light, because then the coffee lacks sweetness. Nor can it be too dark, so that the brew has appropriately high acidity and well-emphasized fruity notes. In the case of coffees from Sumatra, as well as our coffee of the month, this window is exceptionally narrow. We hope we managed to hit it.  

COFFEE OF THE MONTH

Every month we pick two coffee specials – one for the espresso lovers, and the other for the pour-over sippers. Working directly with the roasteries, we deliver freshly roasted, unique coffee beans – always of the highest quality, at the lowest price you can get. What you get is also a thorough review, description, origin, and brewing guide.

The aim of the project is to get you acquainted with speciality coffees and various flavours they offer. Check out the coffees of this month!

RECIPE

Our favorite method is immersion in Hario Switch

•  15 g coffee 
• 250 g water 
• temp. 94 degrees

1. Pour a small amount of water over the ground coffee.

2. After 30 seconds, slowly pour in the rest of the water.

3. After 1:45 min, open the dripper so the brew flows into the server - it should drain completely in about 2:15 min.

Iced version

• 20 g coffee 
• 90 g ice 
• 180 g water 
• temp. 94 degrees

1. Pour a small amount of water over the ground coffee.

2. After 30 seconds, slowly pour in the rest of the water.

3. After 1:40, place the server with prepared ice under the dripper, open the dripper so the brew flows onto the ice - it should drain completely in about 2:15 min.

Store in a cool and dry place.