Sumatra Mandheling Karo Highlands G1 TP Wet Hulled 2024

Sumatra Mandheling Unroasted Coffee Beans

The Karo Highlands in Northern Sumatra are famous for citrus farms and fruit orchards where you can find coffee estates side by side with rows of orange trees or strawberry fields. Elevations span 1,100 to 1,350masl, and rich volcanic soil from nearby active volcanoes provide nutrients to the bounty of crops that grows here.

Mandheling coffee is named after the Mandheling people in northern Sumatra. Indonesia’s large, westernmost island is home to a wide range of tropical flora, fauna, and microclimates. Farms on Sumatra are typically 0.5 to 2.5 hectares and scattered across remote regions. They are connected by a network of collectors, processors, traders, and exporters that together push the coffee into the global supply chain. Sumatran coffee production dominates Indonesia’s industry, and around 60-70% of the country’s volume is produced here.

Wet-Hulled Coffee Process (Giling Basah)

The wet-hulled coffee process, locally known as Giling Basah, is the method of choice in Indonesia due to the humid climate. The wet-hulled process has become synonymous with Indonesian coffees and contributes to its unique cup profile.

In the wet-hulled process, coffee cherries are generally depulped at the farm level using hand-cranked machines. The cherries are then fermented overnight to help break down the mucilage, which is subsequently washed off. Afterwards, the coffee is quick-dried to 30-50% moisture and dried to between 11%-13% as it makes its way through the supply chain into an exporter’s mill.

How is Coffee Graded in Indonesia

Green coffee from Sumatra is classified into different grades depending on the number of defects present in an unroasted coffee sample of 300 grams. The highest, Grade 1 TP, signifies that the coffee was triple-picked, referring to how many times the beans were hand-sorted, and less than five defects were found per sample. Similarly, Grade 1 DP (double-picked) signifies less than nine defects were present in the sample. For a Grade 1 Indonesia green coffee without a TP or DP mark, less than 11 defects were found per sample. The grading system spans grades 1 to 6.

Indonesian Unroasted Coffee Beans

The key Indonesian green coffee regions are Aceh, North Sumatra, South Sulawesi, West Java, Bali, and Flores. Green coffee from Java is exceptionally well-known for its role in disseminating Indonesian coffee production throughout the archipelago. In contrast to the long history of coffee from regions like Sulawesi and Sumatra, green coffee from Bali, a relatively newer coffee region in Indonesia, mainly produces small-batch, limited-scale coffee quantities. Learn more in our Indonesian Coffee Origin Report.