REGION : Panta Musara
ALTITUDE : 1300 - 1500 MASL
VARIETAL : Tim Tim, Gayo 1
PROCESS : Carbonic Natural
This washing station and farm belonging to Hendra and his family is an island of specialty experimental processed coffee in a sea of conventional wet hulled coffee the area is typically known for. Hendra’s father, Hamdan moved to the area in 2006 from Banda Aceh and then bought some land in the sub district of Pegasing to start growing coffee. This move initiated a spark in his son Hendra who then started to work with his father in 2010 and soon began to start experimenting with washed coffees after researching old literature and seeking help from others in Indonesia who were moving away from the wet hulled processing and really highlighting the characteristics such coffees can have. From this Hendra and the family have invested heavily in the farm but more specifically the post harvesting facilities where with some help of funding they have built a small wet will with two pulpers, gravitational washing channels and several raised beds in large poly tunnels for drying the coffee.
Hendra has continued to experiment and now has around 8 – 10 different processes that he produces. The small washing station will produce up to 40 tons of green coffee every year. The coffee is purchased from 70 farmers around the area who want to work with Hendra and pick ripe cherry as he has incentivised them to do this by rewarding good picking. If any farmers have travelled further to get to Hendra’s farm then they are paid extra for this as well. Hendra has also started a nursery where he is helping to grow the Abyssinia varietal that has was planted when coffee first came to Indonesia. He is working with local farmers to plant small plots on their land where he pays more for this varietal due to the reduced yield and higher cup quality.
Hendra will decide the process depending on the weather and the demand from client as he sells a lot of his coffee to Specialty roasters based in Indonesia and predominantly Jakarta. Carbonic Maceration The coffee that is selected comes from the best farmers around Hendra who pick excellent ripe cherry and are based at the highest altitude. For such good selection Hendra pays them a premium.
The cherries are put into plastic fermentation tanks, and CO2 is inserted to push out all of the oxygen. The cherries are fermented for 70 - 80 hours. The coffee is then placed on raised beds and dried for 20 - 25 days on raised beds with regular turning in a drying tent where the temperature is monitored. Before being placed into bags the coffee is then put through a density table twice to help remove immature beans and then goes through two rounds of hand picking to make sure it is clean and of specialty standard.
During the harvest season, coffee is handpicked, with labour usually supplied by the immediate family. After picking, the coffee will be delivered to a UPH collection centre.
Triyono oversees the activities on and around nine UPH stations owned by the cooperative. A UPH is a collection center where coffee cherries are bought by the coop and where the coffee is processed before moving it to the central mill. Essentially, a UPH functions as a small washing station.
With this Anaerobic Natural lot, coffee is first floated and separated by density before being laid on raised beds where workers remove underripes, overripes and damaged cherry. Then, ripe cherry is collected and sealed in airtight, 20kg plastic bags and stored in a cool, dry location (with temperatures between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius) for 7 days.
After 7 days, the cherry is again laid on raised beds to dry. The beds are located in domes that protect the coffee from rain or harsh sunlight. The parchment will dry here for around 20 to 23 days. When dry, the coffee is milled and sorted by hand.
Farmers receive fair prices for their cherry and have a fixed buyer for their cherries. The coop's profit at the end of the year is either invested in infrastructure to improve quality or is shared with the producers. Farmers also receive technical support and seedlings for shade trees for on and around the farm.
Indonesia is perhaps best known for its unique wet hulling process (giling basah). Though its exact origins are unclear, wet hulling most likely originated in Aceh during the late 1970s.
Wet hulling’s popularity can be attributed to producers’ need for prompt payments. It was also adopted specifically by many producers who lacked the drying infrastructure that was needed to shelter drying parchment from the high humidity and inconsistent rainfall typical in Sumatra. At higher elevations with constant humidity and unpredictable rainfall, drying can prove to be slow, risky and difficult.
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