Asman Arianto | Indonesia

TL;DR: Coffee from Indonesia is often overlooked, but we think that's a huge mistake. This coffee not only is supremely delicious, it's paying higher prices to more than 350 local families. Delicious coffee that does a bit more to support local communities, now that's considered coffee.

 

Asman was interested in coffee production. So, when he arrived in Aceh, he entered the coffee industry and began collecting and processing wet-hulled coffee. He soon switched to collecting cherry and processing them as fully washed, honey or natural.

 

He decided he wanted to build a co-operative to unite coffee farmers. In 2018, Asman formed the Ribang Gayo Musara Co-operative. His goal is to offer competitive prices that can help farmers reinvest in their farms and their families. The co-operative currently has over 350 members who deliver cherry to their processing facility in Pantan Musara.

 

The benefits for cooperative members are threefold. First, they get higher prices for their cherry when they sell to the co-operative. Second, as co-operative members, they receive end-of-season ‘second payment’ premiums that share a portion of profits earned for higher-quality lots. In 2019, that premium was 500 Rupiah per kilogram. Finally, the co-operative provides training and outreach for farmers in everything from cultivation to processing.

 

Almost all farms on Sumatra are small. On average, farms are between 0.5 to 2.5 hectares. Coffee is usually the primary cash crop for farmers, but most also intercrop their trees alongside vegetables, maize and fruit. This intercropped produce will make up a substantial part of the family’s diet for the year. In addition to growing coffee as a cash crop, many smallholder farmers also work as hired laborers at the nearby tea plantations. Tea is also a huge crop in the area, and the bigger tea plantations are often near coffee farms. When the coffee harvest is finished, coffee farmers will pick leaves under contracted labor.

 

We've taken an interesting approach to this coffee. Usually with coffees from this area, we focus on getting moisture out of the coffee and then trying to make sure we can control the end of the roast. This one however - due to the fantastic processing - has been a dream to roast! We've given it a little more than our other coffees, allowing it to express some extra texture and sweetness, and give you a little more coffee comfort in your cup. 

We prefer our filter brews from a v60, but we won’t judge for use of anything at all to make yourself a coffee - even a (clean) sock.

 

Our recommended ratio when brewing filter coffee is 60g of coffee per litre of water. Simply scale this down, or up, for your desired size of brew.

 

With all methods, you’ll want: a grind size similar to granulated sugar, boiling water, and about 3 minutes of brewing time. This goes for v60, aeropress, plunger, and the (still hopefully clean) sock.

 

Our favourite recipe for v60:

• 20g of medium to coarsely ground coffee, it’ll feel a little like granulated sugar.
• Set your kettle to boil, and ready your socks to be rocked.
• We use a 60g bloom, with a swirl of the slurry to make sure it’s all wet. You can stir of that’s easier, just don’t rip the paper!
• After that, when your timer is at 45 seconds, add more water to a total of 200g, and swirl gently.
• Then finally at 1:15 on your timer, add the rest of your water, to 330g, and do one last little swirl.
• Wait till it drains through, roughly 3:30 is a good time, pour into your favourite mug, and let those socks be rocked.

 

If you’d like more info or tips, get in touch! hello@coreroasters.cc