Sumatra Honey Process Kerinci Pendekar

This honey process coffee from the Pendekar group near mount Kerinci skirts the typical earth-toned profile of your average wet-hulled Sumatran coffee. It starts with the coffee cherry being run through a pulper leaving the mucilage (honey) intact. The coffee is then moved immediately to drying patios and raised beds where it will remain until dried all the way down to 11-12% moisture level. Leaving that thin layer of fruit stuck to the seed often lends to a bodied coffee, which is the case here. This particular lot isn't so much a fruit-forward honey, but does have some background fruit flavors. The coffee expresses rustic raw sugar sweetness and a moderate level of acidity, quite unique for Sumatran coffee. This lot comes from Gunung Tujuh and Kayu Aro areas, two higher elevation areas around Mount Kerinci. We're calling it "Pendekar" - which translates to "warrior" - as it's a term of endearment members use for each other when someone does a really good job with a coffee (like improving their processing equipment, planting more coffee, building a greenhouse, etc.). There's a cooperative that serves roughly 450 farmers in this growing area, who produce wet hulled, honey/wet hulled (a hybrid process coming later), and fully washed coffees. The farms in this region are planted in older Typica types as well as disease resistant hybrids, and benefit from the high slopes, situated between 1400 - 1500 meters above sea level.