About This Coffee
Gayo Highland Producers Cooperative (Koperasi Produsen Gayo Highland - KPHG) was established in 2016 in Central Aceh, Sumatra. The cooperative works with over 700 farmers who manage a total of 1,000 hectares across 54 lots. It also works with several export companies and is Fair Trade certified.
This lot is processed using the wet-hulling method (or giling basah), a traditional processing method unique to Indonesia. The farmers contributing to this lot typically harvest and depulp their cherries by hand. Favorable growing conditions, combined with the farmers' care and the distinctive wet-hulling process, produce a cup with an earthy, rustic character. Expect sweet fruit notes alongside hints of rich chocolate and maple.
Cultivation
Almost all farms in Gayo Highlands are small. On average, farms are about 1 hectare. In addition to growing coffee as a cash crop, many smallholder farmers also work as hired laborers at the nearby tea plantations. Tea is also a huge crop in the area. The bigger tea plantations are often near coffee farms. When the harvest is finished, coffee farmers will go there and pick leaves under contracted labor.
There are more and more initiatives by farmers on Sumatra to organize themselves into cooperatives. In the past, farmers did not have much leverage to help themselves get better prices for their cherry or parchment. Organized as cooperatives, they can share resources, organize training and negotiate better prices.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Coffee from Sumatra is known for the Wet-hulled process – or gilling basah. This process is unique to Indonesia due to the highly humid weather of the country, which makes drying coffee properly challenging.
Ripe cherries are selectively handpicked and pulped at or near the farm, on small hand-cranked or motorized pulpers. Some farmers in Gayo sell their cherries to a local collector. Coffee is fermented for approximately 12 hours (in small tanks, buckets or bags) and washed with clean water the following morning. Parchment is sun-dried for up to two days, depending on the weather, to allow for skin drying which eases the removal of parchment.
At this juncture the moisture content is between 30-40%. Farmers deliver their parchment to a collector, who might either hull the wet parchment themselves or sell it to someone who will. After hulling, the coffee seed is whitish and pliable (labu in Indonesian). It is laid out to dry on tarps or patios, where it reduces in size and moisture decreases to 14-15%. This stage of green coffee is known as asalan. Exporters will typically finish the drying down to 12-13%, sort and prepare for shipment.
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.
About P88
Introduced to Indonesia from Colombia, P88 has a compact growth habit, large leaves and rounded red cherries. The variety shows some resistance to coffee leaf rust and parasitic nematodes. P88 is also recognized for its cup quality, particularly when cultivated at higher elevations.
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.