Starbucks Sumatra Coffee Bean Varieties Origin Characteristics How to Brew Sumatra Mandheling Coffee

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01

Lake Toba

Lake Toba is a lake in the Barisan mountain range of north-central Sumatra. It is 100 kilometers long, 30 kilometers wide, and reaches a maximum depth of 505 meters. After excluding Samosir Island, which is about 50 kilometers long and 15 kilometers wide in the center of the lake, the area covers approximately 1,140 square kilometers. It is also the world's largest volcanic lake, formed by a massive eruption of the Toba volcano 70,000-75,000 years ago that created today's Lake Toba.

The unique geographical and climate conditions are extremely suitable for coffee cultivation.

Indonesian Coffee History

In the 17th century, the Dutch first transplanted Typica seedlings to Indonesia. Around the 1880s, a large-scale rust disease destroyed almost all Arabica trees, leading to a massive shift to planting Robusta beans from Africa. To this day, Robusta still accounts for 90% of Indonesia's total production, with high-quality Arabica only being cultivated in the high-altitude areas of northern Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Java.

02

Lindong Growing Region

The Lindong growing region is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Toba in Sumatra, at an altitude of 1,200-1,800 meters. Previously, due to greatly increased demand, coffee farmers switched to planting higher-yielding Catimor and Linie varieties. However, the significant decline in coffee quality led to an increase in Typica production.

Starbucks Reserve Sumatra Lake Toba Mandheling represents the dedication and effort of 200 coffee farmers.

The unique climate environment and terroir of the Lake Toba Lindong region have enabled locals to create a very unique semi-washed processing method—the wet hulling method. Coffee farmers transport the harvested fully ripe coffee cherries to workshops after noon to remove the pulp and skin, then ferment the parchment beans for 12-36 hours before drying them to the appropriate moisture content. Next, they are bagged and transported to processing plants for hulling. After hulling, they undergo additional drying, followed by machine sorting by particle size, and then another manual selection to ensure no defects before bagging.

"This is the perfect processing method for these coffee beans," said Chris von Zastrow, Starbucks Director of Agronomy.

03

Coffee Bean Information

Origin: Asia Pacific · Sumatra · Lindong

Variety: Bourbon

Altitude: 1,200-1,400 meters

Processing Method: Semi-washed (wet hulling)

Flavor: Herbal, fresh earthy notes, with syrupy sweetness

Gravitas Blend No. 3

On March 20, 2017, the Seattle Roastery launched Gravitas Blend No. 3, which is a blend of three beans: Sumatra Lake Toba, Nicaragua Maracaturra, and natural Brazil Barinas.

The word "Gravitas" means "dignity" and "seriousness." The simple herbal and earthy flavors of Lake Toba certainly add to its character.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse coffee bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans. Online store services are also available. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473