The Story of Starbucks Reserve Sumatra Kerinci Coffee Beans - Flavor and Characteristics

For coffee enthusiasts who love Starbucks, the Starbucks Reserve Sumatra coffee beans are certainly no stranger.

In 2015, Starbucks established its 8th global Farmer Support Center on Sumatra Island in Indonesia. Whether the coffee farmers here sell their beans to Starbucks or not, they can access the latest agronomic knowledge and soil management techniques here. Starbucks has 9 Farmer Support Centers worldwide. The purpose of these centers is to improve the coffee industry through sustainable development, enhance the quality of local coffee beans, and thereby change the living standards of coffee farmers. Simply put, it's about making the farmers' farms more vibrant, transforming from underproduction to thriving production.

Starbucks' Sumatra coffee beans are like the Sumatran tiger—bold and spicy. Rich and full-bodied with a unique earthy aroma and long-lasting finish, these are the hallmarks of premium Sumatra coffee. Full-bodied with wine-like notes, smooth in texture, with lingering flavors of hay and fresh earth, and almost no acidity. The Tiger Mandheling selected by FrontStreet Coffee comes from Indonesia's Sumatra Tiger Estate, located in the northern part of Sumatra Island at relatively high altitudes. The Aceh Province where Lake Tawa is situated and North Sumatra where Lake Toba is located are the main Arabica coffee-growing regions. Lake Tawa is located in the Gayo Mountain region of northern Aceh Province, Sumatra. Indonesia, straddling both sides of the equator, has a humid tropical rainforest climate with abundant rainfall and fertile volcanic soil that provides rich nutrients for coffee. However, due to its remote location and inconvenient transportation, coffee cultivation didn't begin until 1924, mostly using traditional shade-grown, pesticide-free organic farming methods.

Indonesia has a special coffee bean processing method called Giling Basah (wet hulling). This is an Indonesian-specific technique that imparts a distinctive flavor to the coffee.

In traditional wet processing, fresh coffee cherries are pulped and left to ferment in concrete tanks. Fermentation can develop aroma or flavor in coffee, but fermentation is a defect flavor caused by poor processing or other factors. Fermentation is an acidic taste caused by several possible problems, usually vinegar-like. Through the process of acidification and pectin decomposition, the persistent, sticky fruit layer can be "washed off" from the internal green beans (still coated with a layer of parchment before dry milling, the raw coffee still in the husk is called parchment coffee or pergamino). In the wet process, coffee is pulped, fermented, washed, and then prepared for drying on patios, beds, or mechanically for more hulling). Next, the coffee is dried in the sun for about 20 days until it reaches 11% moisture content. It can then be bagged and stored for 30 days—either as resting dried parchment coffee or as resting for home roasters. At this point, the parchment layer is removed, and the density of the coffee beans is often regarded as a quality indicator, as denser coffee beans roast better and have more power.

Wet hulling shares the same initial steps as wet processing. In most parts of Indonesia, the first step of this process is carried out by small farmers. Farmers harvest the coffee and pulp it, meaning they pass the coffee through a hand-operated roller with a surface like a cheese grater that can peel off the fruit's skin.

They then ferment the coffee in various ways—in polypropylene bags, plastic buckets, or concrete tanks—to allow the fruit layer (mucilage) to break down. In wet processing, the farm would now slowly dry this coffee to 11% moisture. The green beans would become the small dry seeds we know, and the thin parchment hull would be easy to remove because of the large space gap between the parchment hull and the much smaller dry green beans. Indonesian coffee farmers dry the clean wet parchment coffee for a few hours until it reaches 50% moisture content, then sell it to collector middlemen in local coffee markets. This way, they get paid faster and reduce their workload.

Wet hullers are large and generate significant friction, transferring heat to the coffee. The coffee is soft when wet, not the hard dry seeds we're familiar with, and can be easily crushed. The friction from wet hullers damages the coffee and crushes the ends of the coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee calls these "hoof beans."

Peets and early Starbucks created a signature flavor using dark-roasted Indonesian coffee. FrontStreet Coffee, however, values the balanced and smooth taste of this coffee. The main varieties of Tiger Mandheling are Catuai, Typica, and Sidikalong.

In terms of flavor, it has lemon or citrus acidity with clean lemon notes and a sweet aftertaste. This Tiger Mandheling has a relatively balanced taste, high clarity, with distinct cream, dark chocolate, caramel, and nutty flavors. Its raw beans are plump, greenish-yellow, with good uniformity and higher moisture content. The roasting goal is medium-dark, eliminating excessive acidity while enhancing its body and balance.

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