Sumatra Gr.1 Mandheling DP

Sweet Maria's Coffee

Dry-processed Sumatran coffees are the boldest of the Indonesian coffee-growing world. Low-acid, deep, complex; it is entirely sensed in the anterior regions of the palate. Our Grade 1 Sumatran Mandheling coffee from the region of Lake Toba and Lake Takengon (Mandheling is not really a region...it is a Sumatran ethnic group) has a heavy body (dry-processing aids this) and a rich, complex earthy flavor. It has a pleasing, tangy bittersweet and aggressive musty twist in the flavor which makes it so popular among fans of the darker roast. Sumatras are earthy to varying degrees. It's Sumatra, it's great, and when it is a really good lot (and not past crop!) it always is: what more can be said. This coffee is basically dry processed, so I would not cull out odd-looking beans before roasting...you will be surprised how well things work out in the end. You can't buy Sumatras based on the appearance of the green coffee: certain odd looking beans contribute to the pleasantly aggressive cup profile, and certain over-prepared lots can be flat and without proper Sumatra character. You might want to pick out light underroasted beans after roasting, but I choose not to do that either. Finding good lots of Mandheling is difficult, especially now that the demand is high, the Tsunami has put more political pressures on the area, (the Tsunami did not affect coffee lands), and the coffee is selling way over the market prices as it used to. Still, it is ubiquitous. Anyone can stock a Sumatra -just call any broker and buy a bag. But getting a really good lot takes a lot of cupping and a good sense of timing. The best Sumatras usually aren't the first arrivals of the new season, nor the last, but exactly where the crop quality will peak is hard to say. Actually the crop starts arriving in November or so but early lots were not good- and in fact it appears now that the exporters are blending old crop and new crop lots in the early shipments -an unsavory practice. We wait for the "peak of the crop" to arrive for the best cup quality, and this arrival was exactly that. Now, this is not a pretty looking coffee, but then again we don't taste with our eyes. You need to look past appearance and just roast it. And as far as that goes, I am recommending darker roasts than previous years, Full City+, a few snaps into 2nd crack. This is a deep, brooding, pungent, bass note coffee, with and undertone of earthy dark chocolate. The almost tarry character makes it, perhaps, an unbalanced cup, lacking acidity, lacking a bright end to the cup. But this IS the right character for a good Grade 1, Dry -Process Mandheling, so that's that! Ugly coffee alert: Category Red! This lot of Mandheling has the right cup character, but it is also ugly as heck. But we don't enjoy coffee based on appearance, and sometimes the fairness of the green and the quality of the cup have little correlation. This is one of those times...

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