Day 2 | Sumatra Bener Meriah Asbi Wet Hulled Lychee

This special process coffee hails from Bener Meriah in the Aceh region of northern Sumatra. A high elevation mountainous region of Indonesia, Aceh is known for its striking beauty, vast biodiversity, and rich volcanic loam soil.

This lot was produced on a single small farm, the Asbi estate, in association with Aalamin and the Central Sumatra Coffee Company. As is common in this area of the world, Asbi is the farmer's full name. His farm mostly grows Typica and Abyssinia, but also has some of the usual S795 and Sigarar Utang varietals.

The Central Sumatra Coffee Company (CSC) develops programs and projects to assist local small farmers in Sumatra. Over the past several years, the company has solidified methods and procedures for producing excellent coffee. From an organic compost program, using material leftover from processing, to a technical assistance program, focusing on pruning, rejuvenation and replanting, CSC is engaged in assisting production from harvest to final sale.

Under the guidance of Ricky Sugiarto (Chief Science Officer) and Saiful Hairi (Manager of Processing), CSC has been exploring new methods of post-harvest processing. After extensive experimentation with different types of yeast, inoculation, and infusion methods, CSC's team has developed a variety of new ultra detailed processes that produce incredibly unique and lively coffees.

For this coffee, perfectly ripe red coffee cherries are hand picked, sorted, pulped, and placed in tanks to ferment for 14-16 hours. Then the coffee is moved to sealed vats that contain a mix of fresh water and Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and allowed to sit for 48 hours. On the third day of fermentation, freshly juiced lychee fruits and leaves are added to the mix. The coffee is then moved to tables and spread out to dry in the sun. Once it reaches 55% moisture, a solution of juiced lychee fruits and leaves suspended in food grade propylene glycol is applied. After drying to 25-30% moisture, the coffee is hulled and allowed to rest.

The multi-step detailed process results in a flamboyantly vibrant and juicy cup with notes of lychee fruit, dark chocolate, rosewater, and papaya.