Sumatra - Poda

An unexpected first for us, we've taken a dive into Sumatra! 

Aptly named, we've sourced Poda from the Dairi Regency, specifically the three districts of Sitinjo, Sumbul and Sidikilang. Sourcing from one regency in Indonesia is relatively unusual, with coffee often sourced as 'community lots' from all over the territory, making for uneven offerings with very mixed flavour notes - using coffee grown in one regency gives us perfect uniformity. Most coffee plantations in the region cover (on average) just under one hectare. 

Poda is run by Samuel Sihombing. A visionary of speciality coffee in Indonesia, Samuel works with farmers across the regency to improve coordination, agronomy training, encourage more inclusive groups for women farmers, quality control and even financial management. Samuel's contribution leads to incredibly strict quality control upon the wet hulling process, with only the ripest cherries being hand-picked and then fermented for 24 hours, accentuating complex rich flavours.

The wet hulling process is a very traditional process in Asia, especially in Indonesia. Due to the high percentage humidity year-round and typically a much higher rainfall than other speciality coffee producing countries, it creates an intriguing scenario. Wet Hulled process is often known as 'giling basah'; where the cherries are initially pulped to remove the outer skin, before a stage of fermentation which releases what is known as the 'pectin' from the inner mucilage, coating the beans. After the stage of fermentation, washing takes place to remove the mucilage. The beans are then dried as 'wet parchment' in the sun for a few days on concrete patio. At this stage, you would have a 'washed process' however, the coffee is 'hulled' using friction to remove the semi-dry parchment from the inflated wet bean before a final drying stage for the wet beans to a point in the sun where their water density percentage is between 12 - 14%.

We're delighted to have Poda in our range; with predominantly rich syrup flavours prominent, especially molasses and orange, combined with dark chocolate notes through the aftertaste. We like Poda for all brewing methods, but it is predominantly suitable for your stove-top or metal filter brewing options. 

Process: Wet Hulled

Location: Sitinjo, Sumbul and Sidikilang, Dairi Regency

Altitude: 1200 - 1400 MASL

Flavour Notes: Dark Chocolate, Orange and Molasses

Roast Level: Medium

Varietal: Tim Tim