Characteristics of Starbucks Reserve Sumatra Coffee Beans and the Story of Starbucks Reserve Kerinci Coffee Beans

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The Enchanting Island of Sumatra

Sumatra is a verdant green island covered with various tropical plants, brimming with vitality everywhere. Overlapping mountain ranges are submerged in primeval forests, rivers as smooth as mirrors are surrounded by tall, straight coconut trees. Whether in cities, villages, fields, or roads, everything is immersed in an ocean of green. The green ocean and azure sky form a harmonious and beautiful landscape scroll, becoming Sumatra's timeless magnificent scenery that leaves a deep impression on visitors.

The western half is traversed by mountains with over 90 volcanoes, the highest being Mount Kerinci at an elevation of 3,805 meters. The eastern half consists of plains, wider in the south and narrower in the north, with the widest point exceeding 100 kilometers. There are numerous rivers, mainly including the Musi River, Batang Hari River, Indragiri River, and Kampar River, most of which are navigable. Rich in tropical forests with 60% coverage.

Although Sumatra Island has a long coastline, it lacks natural good harbors. The reason is the frequent attacks from "Indian Ocean shore breaks." These high, rolling shore breaks advance toward the shore in one, two, or three long rows with tremendous force, capable of lifting fishing boats to the wave peaks and then flipping them over. Due to this "Indian Ocean shore break" phenomenon, the two main islands of Sumatra and Java have almost no natural good harbors.

Mount Kerinci: The Majestic Volcano

Starbucks coffee beans come from Mount Kerinci, located in Padang, Sumatra.

Mount Kerinci, also translated as Mount Kerinchi, is Indonesia's highest volcano and Sumatra's highest peak. Located in Jambi Province in central Sumatra, 130 kilometers from Padang, it is Indonesia's most active volcano with a crater 600 meters deep at its summit.

Mount Kerinci is an active volcano in the Barisan Mountains of West Sumatra, Indonesia, located southeast of Padang city on Sumatra Island. The island is the world's 6th largest island, with Sumatra's highest peak and nearly a hundred string volcanoes. Its western half is traversed by mountains at an elevation of 3,805 meters. It has a large caldera.

Kerinci is actually a place name - Gunung Kerinci on Sumatra Island.

Mount Kerinci is the highest volcano in Indonesia and the highest peak on Sumatra Island (3,805 meters), located in the southeastern part of Jambi Province, Sumatra.

The area where the volcano is located is also Southeast Asia's largest protected forest area, known as Kerinci Seblat National Park, Indonesia's largest national park. Most interestingly, Mount Kerinci is still an active volcano.

The crater at the summit has a diameter of 500 meters and a depth of about 600 meters, though the most recent eruption was in 2004.

In 2009, Sirup Mawardi, an agronomist from Starbucks' Sumatra Coffee Farmer Support Center, began cultivating Arabica coffee seedlings named Agung Sari in the Mount Kerinci active volcanic area. This not only improves the coffee trees' resistance to pests and diseases but also significantly increases yields.

The FSC Farmer Support Center cultivates healthy seedlings and provides them free to coffee farmers to ensure coffee tree yield and quality.

Local coffee farmers gradually began shifting to cultivating high-quality Arabica coffee, making full use of the excellent growing environment of volcanic soil while also obtaining more generous economic returns.

Now, a decade later, coffee beans produced from Sumatra's Mount Kerinci region, with Starbucks Reserve Kerinci sourcing from approximately 680 small-scale farmers in the area. Sumatra has no large-scale estates; most coffee beans come from such backyard farms, which is the origin of Indonesia's unique semi-washed processing method that presents earthy and herbal aromas.

Padang: The Coastal City

Padang is located on the west coast of Sumatra Province, Indonesia's second-largest island. Padang is the capital of West Sumatra Province and the province's largest city. Padang is one hour behind Malaysia in time difference.

Sumatra's most famous coffee is undoubtedly Mandheling coffee. Mandheling coffee is particularly popular for its rich, mellow taste and unique herbal and earthy flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Method for Sumatra Coffee Beans:

1. Equipment: KONO dripper, Kalita three-hole trapezoidal dripper, flannel filter

2. Water temperature: 84-86°C

3. Grind size: Medium grind

4. Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:13-1:14

5. Extraction time: Approximately 1 minute and 50 seconds

FrontStreet Coffee Analysis:

Because Starbucks' Sumatra coffee beans are roasted to a relatively dark degree, and Sumatra coffee beans themselves have a relatively rich mouthfeel with flavors leaning toward chocolate, nuts, and caramel, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using coffee drippers like KONO dripper or Kalita three-hole trapezoidal dripper that primarily focus on semi-immersion brewing. Simultaneously, choosing lower water temperature paired with coarser grind size helps reduce the chance of over-extraction. A smaller coffee-to-water ratio can enhance the coffee's mouthfeel while avoiding over-extraction that easily occurs in the later stages of brewing.

Important Notice :

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