FTO Sumatra Mandheling

• Origin: Indonesia
• Region: Bener Meriah Regency, Aceh Province, Gayo Region
• Farm: Permata Cayo Cooperative
• Variety: Ateng, Bourbon, Catimore, P99, SLini, TimTim
• Altitude: 3281 -5906 feet
• Process: Semi-Washed
• Grade: Double Pick, 1
• Certifications: Rainforest, Organic, Fair Trade Organic

In 2006 the Permata Gayo Co-op was established with only 50 farmers from 5 different villages. By 2007 the co-op received its organic certification and membership expanded by an additional 450 farmers. Two years later in 2009, member ranks swelled to 1,500 individuals—many of whom were women working both at the farm level and within co-op management. Permata Gayo operates its own cupping and training program, located at their office and cupping facility, which was remodeled in 2010. Several times a year members now have the opportunity to collaborate with green buyers and local collectors in order to identify quality issues and spurn improvements. Members are also able to access an arabica varietal and shade tree nursery, that to date has produced over 500,000 seedlings of a wide variety of plants including coffee, mahogany and an assortment of avocado, citrus, durian and guava. Membership can use the coffee seedlings to replace old or damaged vines, and the non-coffee seedlings can be used to provide natural shade cover and boost overall biodiversity in the event of a low-yielding harvest. The co-op aims to continually increase its yields of Fair Trade Organic Sumatra coffee while simultaneously increasing the income for its members, year-over-year through a focus on seed production, soil management, pest control and improved drying and fermentation facilities.

Coffee premiums provided by the Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance programs have already afforded Permata Gayo members a number of successes such as the establishment of food assistance programs, women’s pregnancy and health programs and the creation of sustainability and environment conservation initiatives. The vast majority of Permata Gayo Co-op’s Fair Trade Organic Sumatra production is exported to the United States, but together Germany, The U.K. and Taiwan account for a large portion of the remaining yield.

Throughout Aceh arabica farms benefit from ideal growing conditions and microclimates provided by the region’s vast pine forests and the widespread availability of volcanic soil. Thankfully in this area the production of coffee has proved itself to be viable and also one of the best economic options for locals who have had to endure long periods of civil war and conflict. Farmers are responsible for growing and harvesting their cherries but the rest is handled by local community collectors, as is traditional throughout much of Sumatra and Sulawesi. Collectors then handle the pulping, washing and drying before transporting the remaining parchment down from the mountains to the co-op’s warehouse. Permata Gayo operates their own dry mill in the city of Medan and oversees the final milling stages before sending the green roughly 20 miles down the road to the Belawan port for export.

By the way... What's CP Select? Well, coffee is a yearly crop and much like wine, some crops really sing. While all Specialty Coffee farmers do their best and many farms are extremely consistent, sometimes the magic moves around. On our menu you'll see a number of farms called out by name; La Minita, Kauai Coffee, La Torcaza and others with established records for high quality and consistency. But you'll also see a number of choices we call CP Select. CP Select choices are instances where things need to change in order to stay the same. And that's where we're a little different.Our CP Select choices like our Estate choices are chosen for their high quality in combination with choosing for consistency from order to order. That's for you. This can be an important element when you've found a type of coffee you love or a certain blend you've created that you want to maintain. Perfection is a difficult goal but we do strive for that ongoing level of quality and consistency in each CP Select choice; that its same as possible each time you order. While those CP Select coffees do lose their bag to bag pedigrees as we source our beans different farms as we search for our choices. They do carry our brand on the site, that's our seal of approval as a CP Select choice. Familiarity and consistency order to order. Our philosophy in the beans menu is one of "jewels and jeans." We absolutely have jewels such as Cup of Excellence beans and many other extraordinary Rock Stars of coffee. And, we also offer super high quality "blue jeans" of coffee; familiar, comfortable, worry-free, trustworthy, high-quality daily drivers. These are our CP Select beans. Equal quality chosen for repeat orders.