Types of Sumatra Coffee - Introduction to Lake Toba Mandheling Coffee Estates and Growing Regions

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Indonesia Sumatra

Sumatra is the main coffee-producing region in Indonesia. Famous coffee-producing areas include the Gayo Mountain region (also known as the Aceh region), Lintong, and Sidaikalang, mainly distributed from Lake Toba to Aceh Province.

Sumatra coffee is not named and sold by region because the coffee aroma from different areas does not vary significantly. Instead, differences in coffee aroma are determined by the degree of manual picking, processing techniques, and equipment. In fact, Sumatra coffee is traded under the name "Mandheling." Mandheling is not a region name, place name, port name, or coffee variety name, but rather originates from the name of an ethnic minority engaged in coffee cultivation in this region. The quality grade of coffee in this area is not determined by the size or uniformity of green beans, but actually by the quality of the roasted coffee aroma.

Lake Toba, Samosir

Samosir is located in Lake Toba, in the northern plateau region of Sumatra, Indonesia. Lake Toba is Indonesia's largest freshwater lake and a world-renowned highland lake, famous tourist destination. Lake Toba was formed by faulting, with the lake's deepest point reaching 529 meters, making it one of the deepest lakes in the world.

Farmers pick ripe red berries and soak them in water. After passing through a pulper, the pulp outside the parchment is removed for dry fermentation. The next morning, coffee beans are sun-dried on terraces in greenhouses or glass rooms until moisture drops to 30%. After removing the outer shell, they are dried again until moisture reaches 15%. This is a relatively new and quite rare method, suitable only for specific regions in certain countries, requiring a considerably long drying period. Therefore, upon arrival, Indonesian wet-hulled beans have higher moisture content, appear dark green, and lose moisture much faster during storage compared to beans processed by other methods. Coffee processed by this method is sticky, and the mucilage does not disappear during fermentation in tanks. Consequently, this semi-washed processing method produces coffee that contains characteristics of both washed and dry processing methods. Such coffee has excellent acidity, sweetness, flavor intensity, and aroma.

Sumatra coffee has distinctive appearance and high recognizability, characterized by earthy aroma, full-bodied beans, and flavors mixed with cedar and spices.

Sumatra Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Sumatra coffee - 【Golden Mandheling Coffee】offers excellent guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, it provides exceptional value - a 227-gram package costs only 89 yuan. Calculated at 15 grams of coffee powder per cup, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, with each cup costing only about 6 yuan. Compared to coffee shops selling cups for dozens of yuan, this is truly a conscientious recommendation.

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

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473