Sumatra Mandheling Sara Ate Organic

This fair trade and organic offering from the Sara Ate Coop is the classic wet-hulled Indonesian cup. It's got low acidity, a syrupy body and smokey/spicy notes such as dark chocolate, pipe tobacco, licorice and black pepper. Bold, delicious and rumored to cause spontaneous chest hair growth.

Arrival Date: August 17th, 2021

Acidity & Brightness: Low acidity with a smokey sweetness

Balance & Finish: Complex with a lingering finish

Body & Texture: Big, rich body and syrupy texture

Flavors: Dark chocolate, pipe tobacco, licorice and a hint of black pepper

Grade: Grade 1, very hard and dense

Processing:  Wet-hulled (semi-washed) and sun dried

Certifications: Organic and Fair Trade

Varietals: Lini S-795, Typica and Caturra

Roasting: Start with a Full City Plus (Medium Dark), or just into the second crack. If you can't hear the cracks, then roast until the beans are smooth and medium dark brown with just the first hint of sheen as the oil emerges. This coffee roasts unevenly, and will appear light for it's degree of roast. Like most Indonesian coffees, this bean handles heat well and you can take it as dark as Vienna with great results. 

Reminder: This coffee is raw, you must roast it before brewing

Our Review: "This lot was cultivated and harvested by members of the Sara Ate Cooperative, which was founded in 2011. The cooperative has more than 500 members with farms that average less than 3 acres in size. Producers belong to the Gayonese ethnic group and maintain a traditional village lifestyle. A large percentage of the producers are women who rely on coffee income to support their families. Each producer carefully sorts their harvested cherries before depulping and fermenting overnight with small micro-mills. Then the coffee is washed and laid out on patios to shed the excess water from the parchment covered beans. Next the coffee takes a detour from the conventional path of processing in other origins, wherein, the coffee parchment is removed while the coffee still has a high moisture content. This wet-hulling process, called Giling Basah in the Indonesian language, leaves the coffee bean exposed while drying on patios to a moisture percentage acceptable for export. This Indonesian processing method gives the bean its unique bluish hue and the hallmark Indonesian profile." - Royal Coffee

Wet-hulled Sumatra Mandheling is the classic Indonesian coffee. Prized worldwide for its low acidity, syrupy body and smokey/spicy flavors, this coffee fits the profile to a "T". We don't recommend a lot of coffees for dark roasting, but this coffee is perfect for it. The super hard and dense Grade 1 beans handle heat very well and the flavors inherent in wet-hulled Indonesian coffee blend perfectly with "roasty" flavors developed during the later stages of roasting. Blend with a fully washed coffee from the Americas and toss in a touch of natural processed East African or Yemeni coffee for a West Coast style Espresso blend. Mix half and half with natural processed Yemen Mocca for a classic Mocca Java. Enjoy all by itself for a bold cup with notes of dark chocolate, pipe tobacco, licorice and a hint of black pepper.