organic Tim tim coffee - from Indonesia
- Country: Indonesia
- Region: Bener Meriah, Aceh, Sumatra
- Farm: Permata Gayo
- Variety: Tim Tim
- Altitude: 1200-1450
- Process/Method: Giling Basah
- Certification: FLO, Fairtrade, Organic, RFA.
Permata Gayo Cooperative is located in the Bener Meriah district of the northen region of the Aceh, Sumatra.
This cooperative was founded in 2006 from the colaboration of 50 farmers in Bener Meriah . Together they realised their potential of making a living from coffee. Through their success membership has substantially increased, and in 2007 the co-op achieved organic status, followed in 2009 by FTO status.
The cooperative has now grown to over 2000 members from nearly 40 villages in this region.
Once picked the coffee undergoes a 12 hour fermentation process before being dried for 1-2 days to achieve a 35-40% moisture level.
It is then sent for hulling and further drying to a moisture level of 15-18%. The coffee is then transported to Medan where it is finally dried to the desired moisture content of 13% before It is packed in grain pro lined bags ready for shipping.
By consolidating the full process of coffee production from farm to final export, the Permata Gayo Co-operative have improved quality and are able to provide clearer traceability from Aceh to the roasters.
Today the Permata Gayo Cooperative has 2053 members from 39 villages.
As a result of their growth and improvements, the co-op has been able to share more of the final coffee price with their
farmers.
Our Indonesian coffee is smooth & deep, exhibiting flavours of:
Aromatic spices. grapefruit. A full dark chocolate body & a lingering sugar cane/prune sweetness. smooth & balanced.
indonesia overview
Coffee was planted in Sumatra by Dutch colonialists in the late 1600s under the guidance of the Dutch East India Trading Company – or Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC). Between 1602 &1796 the VOC sent almost a million Europeans to work in the Asia trade on 4,785 ships
With Europe’s ever increasing thirst for coffee at that time, this commodity played an important role in Indonesias' trade, as indeed it does today.
Following early success in Java, coffee was then introduced to Sumatra, initially to the northern region of Aceh around Lake Tawar.
Today coffee is still widely produced in these northern regions of Aceh (Takengon, Bener Mariah) as well as in the Lake Toba region (Lintong Nihuta, Dairi-Sidikalang, Siborongborong, Dolok Sanggul, & Seribu Dolok) to the southwest of Medan.
Aceh has seen much civil unrest throughout its history, but most recently due to guerrilla activity organised under the Free Aceh Movement.
As a result many farms were abandoned, as farmers migrated to escape the unrest.
Incredibly, the devastation of the 2004 Boxing Day earthquake & tsunami did provide a silver lining, as it focused international attention on Banda Aceh. Subsequent aid spotlighted the region& served to bring relative peace to Aceh.
Now farms are being revitalized via new planting & pruning & hope is returning.
The average farm size in Sumatra is small, just 1 to 5 hectares across the country. Different varietals can often be found growing together. Over the last 50 to 100 years this has led to hybridisation. This natural crossbreeding has produced a variety known locally as Berg en Daal.
Sumatran coffees are mainly produced by a unique semi-washed process which is sometimes described as “wet-hulled” (known locally as Giling Basah).
In this process the coffee is picked, machine pulped (usually on the individual small holding), then partly sun dried. The parchment is removed revealing a whitish coloured, swollen green bean.
The drying is then completed on the patio where the seed quickly turns to a dark green colour unique to Sumatra.
This method brings about more body & often more of the character that makes Indonesians coffees so unique & recognisable, with flavours ranging from earthy herbs & deep chocolate to citrus & spice.