1. When The Standards Don’t Apply: Sumatra

2. Indonesia

4. Production Data Indonesia 2007 – 425,000 tons coffee Robusta 360,000 tons 120,000 tons consumed domestically 240,000 tons exported Arabica 65,000 tons All exported 55,000 tons ( 85%) North Sumatran Provinces Aceh 30,000 tons, N/Sumatra 25,000 tons Sumatran Coffee

5. Aceh Province + North Sumatra Province = Sumatran Arabica

6. Production System Small holder production - ½ to 2 ha farms 600kg /Ha 100,000 coffee farming families Harvest, pulp, ferment, wash, skin dry, sell at farm gate. Market chains to export are unregulated

16. Exporting All through Medan (Port of Belawan) 6 to 8 large exporters over 1000 tons /year. Largest exporter over 6000 tons per year Up to 20 smaller exporters Must meet Indonesian Export Standards 90% Arabica exported as “Grade 1” Well below SCAA standards. Uniqueness is Sumatran’s key Virtue Inconsistency is its major Vice.

17. North Sumatran Descriptions Regions: Lintong, Sidikalang, Mandheling ( N/Sumatra) Takengon, Laut Tawar (Aceh) Ethnic groups: Batak, Gayo Sometimes reflect true orgins.

18. Sumatran Descriptions -“A heavy body coffee, without any acidity with full spicy flavor and a wonderful bouquet” -“Considered one of the world's finest coffees, undoubtedly the most full-bodied coffee available. Low in acid, but rich and smooth. -“Very full body, very concentrated flavor. Sweet, slightly earthy, herbal nuances with a gutsy richness.” -“Sumatra coffee features a full body with virtually no acidity -“Bold and intense, with a full body and earthly aroma – be prepared for unusually concentrated spicy and herbal notes” -”Ultra heavy body, earthy spice, and very low acidity. Flavor-wise, the most easily distinguishable of the world's great coffees.” -”A uniquely heavy-bodied coffee with low acidity and pleasant nutty aroma. This coffee possesses a distinctive, syrupy, exotic flavor. Truly Unusual.”

19. Sumatran Descriptions (continued) -”This coffee has the reputation of being the most full bodied coffee in the world. It is relatively low in acidity but the flavor, like the body, is rich, smooth and full” -”Full bodied, with a rich dark chocolate bottom. This coffee has low acidity and a pleasant smokey finish” -”Sumatran Mandheling is among the world's finest coffees displaying rich flavor, extraordinary full body and distinctively vibrant, low-key acidity.” - “In this Sumatra Mandheling DP the flavors are richly low-toned, chocolate, syrupy-carmelly body, malty, penetrating aroma and slightly earthy (almost mossy) with pronounced herbal nuances.” - “Sumatra green coffee has a beautiful deep blue-green color with the appearance of jade. Deep, full flavored, full-bodied with chocolate, spice, clean earth, and caramel/butterscotch notes. Slight notes of smoke and tobacco, and big, clean, lingering finish with chocolate and a hint of butterscotch.”

20. Sumatran Character Complex interaction between: Growing environment Farm management Coffee variety Processing chain. Focus on Varieties and Processing .

21. Aceh Variety Assessment Aceh recent history Conflict – simmering for 100 years. Increased in 1996. Early 2000s peak. GAM – Free Aceh Movement. 5000 houses destroyed Coffee farmers caught in the middle. Tsunami 180,000 people killed in coastal areas. Brought the conflict to an end in 2006 due to international focus on Aceh. Peace brought opportunity to rehab and replant coffee.

26. UNDP/APED funded Assessment Partners: ICCRI – Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute – Jember, East Java Gayo Research Station – Pondok Gajah in Aceh coffee area. “Applied Research” – limited funding.

29. Trial Processing: 2 Methods Aceh has unique processing system. Full-Washed processing. Full-Washed is a well recognised standard method which would give clean acidic cup and is generally quite repeatable. Wet–Hulled processing: Should give the Sumatran character of enhanced body and lower acidity . Understanding Wet-hulling

30. What is Wet Hulling? Wet hulling = “Giling Basah” Hulling normally describes the process of removing dry parchment from the coffee bean. Wet hulling uses modified Dry Hullers Unique in the world. – Northern Sumatra and Sulawesi.

31. Why Wet Hulling? Faster drying in wet climates. 12 day drying process reduced to 3 or 4 days. Not intended to change quality.

32. Pumpkin Coffee / “Kopi Labu”

33. Review of Full-Washed Wet–Hulled Steps The coffee fruit or cherry itself has four distinct layers around the bean. 1. The fleshy, grape-like outer red skin (exocarp or epicarp), 2. The slimy pulp or mucilage (mesocarp), 3. The parchment (endocarp) 4. The silver skin.(integument) Bean (Endosperm) Embryo Sumatran CoffeeProcess good fresh ripe cherry, pulped promptly, fermented for a maximum of 2 days washed well and skin dried. All Sumatran wet parchment should be clean and well washed.

38. Wet Hulling Parchment dried – no longer turgid – flexible. Operators play a key role. Hullers are modified dry hullers. Parchment can be hulled at different moisture levels. – different results. If too wet or too dry – Goat’s Hoof or “kuku kambing” Wet hulled coffee must be dried quickly to stop mould.

50. Wet –Hulling Experiences “All very interesting, but does it make a difference?” - Toraja, Sulawesi in 1999. Toraja case study: Sulawesi AA Wet–Process Toarco – Toarco Jaya Sulawesi Toraja Sapan-Minaga - CBI

51. Wet-Hulling Conclusions At its simplest is a fast drying process that enhances body and reduces acidity. This is where the Sumatran story only begins. Always a wide variation in individual farmer batches, but a wider range in Sumatrans 1 in 20 coffee. Where does it come from? Why is it so illusive?

52. Aceh Variety Trial Aceh - more than 10 varieties in commercial production. Dutch project 1980-92 brought over 25 varieties to Gayo Research Centre. ICCRI brought in more varieties. Farmers “hedge their bets” and often have 6 to 8 varieties on their farm.

53. Aceh Coffee Variety Groups 4 major genetic groups of coffee in Aceh. Typica selections (pure old Arabica) – “Bergendal”, “Sidikalang”, “Rambung”, “BelawanPusumah” Hybrido de Timor – (HdT) – “Tim Tim” natural cross Typica x Robusta. Catimor Varieties.- “AtengJeluk,” “Kartika” “Andung Sari” S-795 / S-288. – “linie S” – from India, Arabica x Liberica. “Kent” then back cross S-288 to S-795.

54. Variety Sampling Process Evaluated 9 promising Arabica coffee varieties which were well established and showed promise in Aceh. 3 varieties were evaluated at 3 altitudes, as suitable populations of between 100 and 300 trees were found. 6 varieties were evaluated from single sites. 15 sample plots in total. Difficult to find large plots of a few hundred trees of the same variety.

55. Variety Sampling Process 3 cherry harvests from the same plot of coffee trees (100 to 300 trees identified as a specific variety) over 2 months. Each harvest replication from each sample plot was processed two ways (Full-washed and Wet-hulled) 90 samples comprising 30 x 3 sets(reps) samples ( about 15kg each) of dried green bean were taken from Aceh to ICCRI in Jember, East Java for assessment.

58. 9 Varieties for Assessment Ateng Jeluk ( locally selected Catimor), 3 locations (1520m, 1300m, 900m) Tim Tim (Hybrido de Timor) 3 locations (1520m, 1350m, 1240m) Bor Bor (a local selection of Hybrido de Timor), 3 locations, (1520m, 900m,1300m) S-795, (1350m) S-288, (1,240m) BP- 524 ( ICCRI selected Catimor) ( 1,300m) P-88 (Catimor from Thailand) (1,400m) C-50 (Catimor from Australia) ( 1,400m) Bergendal (local Typica) (1,480m)

59. Ateng Jeluk

60. Tim Tim / HdT

61. Bor Bor

62. S-795

63. S-288

64. BP-524

65. P-88

66. C-50

67. Bergendal / Typica

68. Pulping and Fermenting

69. Drying

70. Variety Assessment Process The ICCRI cupping team evaluated and scored each of the 90 samples. They then compared each set of 3 replications from each sample plot (by each process) Once individually tested, the 3 replications for each treatment were combined to make 30 “Composite” samples for further testing.

71. ICCRI Cupped Each Samples

72. ICCRI Cupping TeamDr Surip Mawardi, Mr Yusianto, Ms Sulistyawati

73. Variety Assessment Process 20 sets composite sample prepared of (30 samples sets) with “blind coding”. Tested twice by the ICCRI cupping team. Assessment by ICCRI formed the basis for the recommendations to the Government of Aceh and Indonesia.

74. Variety Assessment Process Two cupping forms used based on a SCAA scoring format. 1 form compared each pair of samples processed two ways. 1 form compared the 15 samples processed the same way to determine varietal difference . 6 International and 6 Domestic companies participated. Finally, 27 separate cup evaluations were received. Results: numerical scores and cupping notes and comments. ICCRI also assessed bean size, defect and abnormality levels. Cupping results were considered along with the field data (growth, productivity, disease levels and farmer preferences.)

75. Main Findings 1. 2 x Hdt ( Tim Tim and Bor Bor) plus Catimor were best options for Aceh. 2. P-88 was equally good. Recommended for planting. 3. BP 542, high yielding Catimor had very poor cup. Astringent / Bitter. A good example of why so many people hate catimors!!! 4. Typica rated well as Full-washed but lower as wet- hulled.

76. Main Findings (continued) 5. S-795 and S-288 cupped well as Full-washed and wet hulled – but not Aceh. Torajan!! Appears to have a unique variety linked flavour profile. 6. Ateng Jeluk cupped well, particularly as wet-hulled. – However not rust resistant. 7. C-50 cupped well but is not rust resistant.

77. Main Findings (continued) 1. Wet-hulling gave enhanced body and reduce acidity. 2. Wet-hulling gave more variable results than Full-washed within replicates. 3. Wet-Hulling was preferred for many varieties. 4. Longer drying times (not planned) gave more acidity in both Wet-hulled and Full-washed. 5. Catimors and HdT appear to benefit from Wet-Hulling.

78. Bor Bor Introduced by Dutch Project to 1 farmer in 1982. 4 seedlings in a package of 19 varieties. Origin of 19th variety unknown. Called “Bor Bor” by farmer – “lots of fruit” Dutch Project abruptly stopped in 1992. ICCRI believe it might be a selection of Tim Tim from their seed garden of selected “Tim Tim”.

79. Mr Maisir with Original Bor Bor

80. Tim Tim / HdT Many introductions – starting in 1980 Dept of Estate Crops: 1980 – direct from East Timor. Dutch Project: 1984 and 1989 - direct from East Timor ICCRI introduced better selections in early late 1990s. Less variable.

81. P-88 A Columbian Catimor Sent to Kenyan Research Station -1975 Sent from Kenya to Thai research station -1984 Sent from Thailand to Aceh -1988. Planted by Dutch project but never released to farmers. 1 single Plot of this in Aceh.

82. Bergendal / Typica Very susceptible to leaf rust. Small holder yields ½ of rust resistant varieties. Estimated only 5% of coffee in Aceh. Cupped no better than HdT or best Catimors

83. BP-542 Not released – no common name. Selected by ICCRI from Costa Rica Catimor stock. High yielding and good rust resistance. Very poor cup – astringent, bitter Typical of why many cuppers hate Catimor.

84. BP-542

85. Ateng Jeluk Mistakenly brought to Aceh in 1980. 1 seedling in 100 HdT seeds given to a farmer. Farmer nurtured this seedling and planted a whole seed garden from this tree. Spread like wild fire through Aceh. The first “Catimor”. Probably and early CIFC being trial in East Timor in the 1960s.

86. Ateng Jeluk (continued) Now out of favor by farmers as Rust resistance has broken down . Beans become smaller as tree ages. Trees susceptible to overbearing stress.

87. Ateng - Jeluk

88. S-795 Only 1 planting in Aceh Sweet “sugar” and “baggy” flavour. Not typical Aceh flavour profile. Blind cupping identified this as Torajan. Old selections had 10% “elephant ear” ICCRI selection in Aceh had normal abnormality levels.

89. North Sumatra New variety – “Sigarar Utang” (repay the debt) has appeared!! Source unknown – probably a Catimor. ICCRI has evaluated and cup tested it. Very similar in cup and physical appearance to P-88. Reports of it now becoming affected by Coffee Rust. It may go the same way as Ateng Jeluk!!

90. Wet Hulling In search of the 1 in 20 Wet hulling – fast processing, fast drying, enhanced body and lower acidity. Does not explain the range of flavour profiles in Sumatrans. Wet–hulling opens a “Pandora’s box” of potential flavour precursors. Bean Germination Mould Bean Damage Bean Heating

91. Bean Germination and Nutrient Mobilization Coffee is a recalcitrant seed – no dormancy before germination. Seeds in coffee fruit are inhibited by some unknown mechanism(s). 4 main coatings around coffee seed hold the key to inhibition. - unclear Skin (Exocarp) Pulp (Mesocarp Parchment (Endocarp) Silver skin (Integument)

92. Coffee Bean (from Selmar and Bytof)

93. Bean Germination and Nutrient Mobilization (continued) Selmar and Bytof (2000 to 2008) have demonstrated that full-washing(removing 2 layers) initiates germination and influences cup flavour. Wet-hulling removes all 4 layers. Standard nursery practice – remove parchment to halve germination time. Germination causes the mobilization and metabolizing of sugars, fats, proteins. Many of these are likely to be flavour precursors.

94. Mould, Fungi, Yeasts Normally try to stop mould in coffee processing. Dr Taniwaki and her Brazilian colleagues have infected coffee beans with specific moulds. “Stinker” , “woody,” “rancid”, “mouldy,” “rioy” Also “Caramel”, “Chocolate” and “Floral” Descriptors like “Earthy,” “Forest floor”, “Herbal”, “Spice” are probably Mould.

95. Mould, Fungi, Yeasts Anecdotes from Coffee Factory Managers cleaning up moulded coffee. Sometimes produces great coffee. Enough evidence that mould plays a large part in Sumatran flavours Perhaps we can suppress the bad moulds and inoculate with good moulds Wine – wild yeasts are suppressed and cultured yeasts are introduced.

96. Wet Hulling – Physical Damage Very physical process. Beans are brutally massaged!! Macro level: damage is clear – “Kuku Kambing” Micro-level: large amounts of cellular damage. Breakdown and rupturing of cell compartments. Living plant tissue response to damage is often production of Phenolic compounds. Phenolic compounds are well know flavour precursors.

97. Heating During Hulling Wet-hulling is a high energy process. Friction creates heat. The wetter the coffee the more friction. Heating has 2 likely effects Hot coffee moulds very quickly. Heating will have a profound effect on the metabolic activity of living coffee seed that has just had germination inhibitors removed. Coffee comes out of hullers at 30 degrees or over 60 degrees ( too hot to hold!!)

98. Wet –Hulling Summary Fast, clean, controlled wet-hulling and rapid drying enhances Body and reduces Acidity. The further we move away from this controlled situation the more “wild” Sumatran flavours appear. Understanding these processes will allow the industry to consistently produce batches of “Mild Sumatrans” through to “Wild Earthy, Spicy Forest floor Sumatrans”

99. When is a Defect not a Defect? Sumatran Coffee should meet SCAA Physical Defect standards. Exception – “Kuku Kambing” SCAI is assessing if “Kuku Kambing” affects cup quality. Sumatran Cup defects: Where to draw the line? Cup defects before Wet-hulling not acceptable; “green” “grassy” “fruity” “fermented” “stinker”. Flavours created after Wet -Hulling need more discussion. Often disappointment at lack of expected flavour.

100. When is a Defect not a Defect To improve Sumatran quality issues we need: Standardized vocabulary to describe and quantify Sumatran flavours. Higher Indonesian industry level cupping skills to be able to assess Sumatran quality before export. SCAI is promoting Indonesian Q-cupping program. A better understanding of the processes that create these flavours.

101. Successful Sourcing of Sumatrans Fast efficient process chains are best. Sourcing direct from farmers or reliable collectors. Control at the Factory door – bag by bag. Blending to create consistent lots. Hand sorting – DP Double Pick and TP Triple Pick. What is the value?

102. Individual Sacks Numbered Photo : Jeff Neilson

103. Assessing Coffee Bag by Bag Photo: Jeff Neilson

104. Conclusions Northern Sumatra has a dynamic Coffee industry. Quality often attributed to conveniently uncontrollable factors. Environment, Farm management. Varieties are important. Processing is probably the single major factor that influences quality and the unique flavour of Sumatrans.

105. The Naked Coffee Bean(The key to Sumatran character) Stripped bare of germination inhibitors Heated Brutally massaged Exposed to Moulds and Yeasts The science behind Wet-hulling is not understood. We are just beginning to understand how much we don’t know.

106. When the Standards Don’t Apply:Sumatran Coffee Thank You