Sumatra

Bener Meriah

Spiced Apple Cider. Peach. Juniper.
$20.00 / 12oz
Clear
Coffee Review
Body: Thick & Syrupy
Acidity: Winey
Producer: Central Sumatera Coffee (CSC)
Variety: Abyssinia. Typica.
Growing Elevation: 1400 Meters
Processing: Wet Hulled
Region: Aceh. Sumatra.

A new wet hulled Sumatra. Our Bener Meriah Sumatra comes from the Bener Meriah estate in the Aceh province of Sumatra which is owned and operated by Central Sumatera Coffee. Founded in 2015 by university student Enzo Sauqi Hutabarat, Central Sumatera Coffee is a young group of coffee professionals with young leadership determined to bring about a higher level of quality in the coffees coming out of Sumatra. At Bener Meriah, they have implemented a number of extra quality standards and additionally have isolated out coffee varieties on the estate, creating a unique flavor profile for the region renowned for coffee growing. While most coffee coming out of Aceh are heirloom varieties, primarily Catimor hybrids, grown by smallholder farmers, the coffees coming out of Bener Meriah are single lot varieties. This particular lot is composed of Abyssinia and Typica varieties that were specifically isolated out on the farm to create an original flavor profile.

The Abyssinia variety is of arabica lineage and traces back first to Java and then to Ethiopia. Seeds were purportedly first brought by Dutch agricultural researcher P.J.S. Cramer to the island colony of Java in 1928 from a few select mother trees in Ethiopia—known at the time as Abyssinia. When the genetics flourished in Java, growers continued propagating the plants, and strains can still be found occasionally across the archipelago.  Abyssinia and Typica closely resemble one another physically, both known for their narrow, longbean-like shape.  The Abyssinia variety is known for having refined fruit notes and a unique floral sweetness with a well balanced silky body.  The Typica variety is known as the first purebred Arabica coffee and is the “mother” of all current Arabica coffees.

This coffee lot is wet hulled, a form of coffee processing unique to Indonesia that creates distinct flavor profiles. At Bener Meriah, cherry is picked daily and sorted for ripeness and uniformity. It is then depulped and fermented for 12 hours in an open tank, after which it is washed with fresh water and soaked. In traditional wet-hulling fashion, the coffee seeds are then sun-dried to the touch and then hulled of their parchment, leaving behind just the soft, high-moisture coffee bean (thus earning the term “wet-hulled”). The coffee beans are then spread out on large patios and tarpaulins to continue drying until the coffee reaches an internal moisture content of 12%. While wet hulled coffees tend to taste quite earthy, this particular lot is extremely clean and fruit forward. It is super thick, winey, and syrupy with lots of lovely spice and fruit notes. We tasted spiced apple cider, peach, juniper, blackberry, and green grape.

MORE
LESS

You may also like…