About This Coffee
This wet-hulled, Organic coffee was produced by PT. Ihtiyeri Keti Ara (IKA) farm and farmers in the areas around Atu Lintang in Sumatra's Aceh province. PT. Ihtiyeri Keti Ara (IKA) owns the Jagong Mill, which is operated by Irham Junus and his son and daughter, Andi and Ina. The family takes great care to preserve quality in their processing methods, and the result is an unusally clean and sweet Sumatran coffee.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
This coffee was processed using the wet-hulled method that is virtually unique to Indonesia. The method is also known as seed dried or Giling-Basah.
During harvest time, cherry is handpicked. Ripe cherry is then pulped in a classic pulper before being dry fermented. Parchment is then delivered to dry on a patio for 4-5 days, or until it reaches 25-40% moisture content. At this point, it will be hulled using a wet-huller.
The hulled coffee will then be dried again to 10-12% moisture and stored in the cooperative warehouse for around one month before dry milling.
The Janus family takes unusual care in processing, which is evident in the quality of the cup.
About Giling Basah: Wet Hulled Process
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.
The basic process for wet hulling is as follows: Cherry is harvested and pulped at or near the farm on small hand-cranked or motorized pulpers. The coffee is fermented overnight in small tanks, buckets, or bags and washed with clean water the following morning. Parchment is sundried for between half a day and two days, depending on the weather. This first drying is for skin drying, which eases the removal of parchment.
At this juncture, the moisture content is between 30 and 40%. Parchment is delivered to a processor (often by the village collector) for wet hulling. A wet hulling machine is larger, requires more power and runs at a faster speed than a traditional dry huller. After the hulling, the coffee seed is whitish and pliable and is called labu. It is laid out to dry on tarps or patios, where it reduces in size and reaches 14 to 15% moisture content. This stage is known as asalan and is unsorted and with defects. Much of the internal commercial trade is for asalan. Exporters, most of whom are based in Medan, will finish the drying down to 12 to 13% moisture content and will sort and prepare coffee for shipment.
Our premium and specialty wet-hulled coffees are produced in direct collaboration with village collectors and processors so that the drying, storage and lot integrity remain in place from the farmer all the way to you. In this way, we can export cleaner, more stable and more traceable regional lots.
Sucafina in Indonesia
Sucafina has established offices and quality labs in Indonesia that are staffed by an experienced team who manage our activities across this vast and diverse island nation. We partner with farmers, cooperatives, collectors, mills, and exporters from many producing islands including Sulawesi, Flores, Bali, Java and Sumatra. We work to identify the best producers across Indonesia and support their ability to improve quality, increase capacity and access the market.
We regularly travel to visit partner producers. Visits are essential to maintaining and strengthening the relationships that are integral to our communal success. Visits help us gather accurate, up to date information on harvest and post-harvest timing and practices. We also use this time with producers to help identify challenges they are facing and determine where we can help them work towards sustainable, affordable solutions. Our local team oversees logistics to ensure that coffee moves safely and efficiently from farm to mill to port, and on to you. With comprehensive quality control at multiple stages of the supply chain, we ensure the integrity of each shipment and work continuously on quality improvement.
Indonesia has an impressive diversity of coffees to offer and the industry continues to evolve and change. Whether you’re looking for consistent deliveries of the classic wet-hulled profile from North Sumatra or Aceh, the clean washed coffees from Flores or Sulawesi, or experimental micro-lots from the new generation of producers emerging around the archipelago, the team at Sucafina Indonesia is ready to help.
Coffee in Indonesia
Indonesia has a long coffee producing history, but recently their coffees have been overlooked by the specialty market. Thanks to our innovative and ever-expanding supply chain, we are proud to bring you high-quality coffees from many of Indonesia’s unique regions, accompanied by in-depth traceability information.
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.