SUMATRA ​orang utan

General Information

Origin: Sumatra, Indonesia
Region: Gayo, Aceh
Village: Bener Meriah villages
Cooperative: PT. Ihitiyeri Keti Ara
Washing Station: Various
Farmers: 380 active members (285 female, 95 male)
Cultivars: Tim Tim & Ateng
Altitude: 1.300 - 1.600 masl
Process: Giling Basah (Wet Hulled)
Harvest: Sep - Nov 2023
Cherry Price | FOB Price: 5.16 USD/kg |  7.22 USD/Kg
Screen | Moisture | Density: 17+ | 13 % | 0.686 g/ml
Packaging: 60 Kg w/ GrainPro
Score: 85.5
Notes: Peach, cola, pepper, cocoa

TRACEABILITY

The dense rainforest is also the habitat of the critically endangered Sumatran orangutan. The increasing destruction of the rainforests due to palm oil monoculture threatens not only the existence of the orangutans, but also that of the coffee farmers. That is why we work only with cooperatives of small coffee farmers who recognise the importance of the rainforests and their biodiversity as the basis of their livelihoods. The forest and rainforest of Sumatra are the lungs of our planet and provide habitat for some of the most diverse animal species on the planet (such as the Sumatran tiger, pygmy elephant, white rhino and orangutan).

​​We have named this lot Orang Utan, because we want to give first-hand exposure to what is happening on the island and allocate 1% of the revenue from direct sales to donations for the protection of the Orang Utan and the conservation of its habitat. The smallholder farmers cooperating in this lot have farms located in the district of Bener Meriah and Pantan Lues, which border recently deforested areas and need a financially sustainable business to protect their land, and not have to surrender to palm oil monoculture.

Here, the average farm covers between half a hectare and one hectare, with a remarkable 75% of the district's producers being women and a staggering 99.9% being smallholders. Amidst what remains of the lush rainforests of these volcanic mountains, coffee still thrives. A remarkable natural wonder that we must protect, expand and ensure the indefinite survival of sufficient numbers of orangutans.

HISTORY OF INDONESIAN COFFEE

The history of coffee in Indonesia, as in many others producing countries around the world, begins with tales of colonialism, slavery, monopoly and multinational corporations (Yes! The first ones of modern history were set in the early 17th century). In the year 1602 the Dutch government established the “Dutch East India Company” (VOC; Verenigde Oost-indische Compagnie) as a chartered company and granted it a 21-year monopoly on the Dutch spice trade. This was the first model of what we consider today a multinational corporation.
 
The Dutch East India Company began with coffee trading in Mocha (Yemen), and during the first half of the 17th century, they only traded coffee in the Arab world and Asia, because there was no demand for coffee in Europe at that time. But during the late 17th century, coffeehouses spread all over Europe and the Dutch, English and French started to trade coffee from different Arab ports. The Arabs had forbidden the trade coffee in fertile seeds or plants, of course, they wanted to keep their monopoly, but when coffee became very popular in Europe around the 1690, and political problems in the Arab countries threatened coffee imports, different European countries tried to get coffee plants or seedlings for trading purposes.
 
The race to make off with some live coffee trees or seeds was eventually won by the Dutch. They obtained the coffee plants most likely in Malabar (India), where the Dutch East India Company ruled at the time. The coffee plants were introduced in Batavia (today Jakarta) Indonesia in 1696. In 1711 the first coffee exports were shipped from Java to Europe. The first coffee shipment was around 450 kg. Ten years later the export had already grown to 60.000 kg.
 
Originally coffee was cultivated only in Java, but in 1870, the Dutch expanded growing areas of Arabica to Sumatra, Bali, Sulawesi and Timor. In northern Sumatra, coffee was first cultivated near Lake Toba in 1888; and then in the Mountains of Gayo, near lake Tawar, by 1924.​

VARIETIES OF INDONESIA

​Coffea arabica, which is indigenous to Ethiopia, was first transported from its origin to neighboring Yemen, and from Yemen was transported all over the world. The coffees that we call Typicas today come from plants that came from Yemen and were brought to Java and the outlying islands by the Dutch, and possibly through the mythical Indian Sufi Baba Budan.

At the beginning of the 20th century, all Arabica coffee plants were devastated by Leaf Rust Disease (CLR). Coffea Canephora (Robusta) plants were then used to replace Arabica because they had greater resistance to CLR. However, this was not without problems, as cupping results were somewhat unpleasant compared to Arabica results. Most of the Typica varieties of Indonesia were lost to CLR disease, although, some Typica plants that had been grown in the northern highlands of Sumatra survived, and can still be found today growing there.

In the 1920s, Timor Hybrid (HdT), a natural cross between Coffea Arabica and Coffea Canephora (Arabica and Robusta) was found on the island of Timor. HdT has genes that are resistant to CLR, nematodes and coffee berry disease (CBD). The discovery of HdT played an important role in the development of modern varieties and coffee research. Based on the historical origin of the Coffea Arabica cultivars, the Typica and Bourbon varieties showed important differences. The young leaves of the plant bud are bronze for the cultivars of Typica or dominant origin, and light green for cultivars of Bourbon origin or with that dominant gene.

The varieties of Coffea Arabica that we can find today in the Gayo highlands are: Bergendal, Sidikalang, Rambung, Lines - S, USDA, Catimor Jaluk, Ateng Super, BP 542, C - 50, among others. But recommended by the local government for its high productivity and cup quality are: Gayo-1, Gayo-2 and P-88.

GILING BASAH PROCESS

BENER MERIAH VILLAGE LOCATION
 CONTACT
[email protected]
+34 675 608 692
WHERE  WE ARE
Barcelona, Spain
Santiago, Chile
​Budapest, Hungary