Very full body, very concentrated flavor. Sweet, slightly earthy, herbal nuances with a gutsy richness.
Sumatra's coffees are grown almost exclusively by smallholders and processed by the semi-washed or wet-hulled method. The fruit is pulped on the farm, often by means of a hand-cranked mill, and the seeds, still encased in an endocarp, washed in a basket or bucket. They are laid on a mat for the briefest of dryings. Collectors purchase and hull the coffee at high internal moisture, removing the parchment, and exposing the beans. They subsequently dry in stages (and infuse with Sumatran character) all the way to the godowns in the port of Medan.
There is little sorting or grading, and this may be the secret of Sumatra: the process could not be more elementary; the cup could not be more satisfying. The syrup-like body and rustic complexity of Sumatra is particularly well developed in the full-throated Peet’s roast.
