Sumatra Aceh KKGO

I’ll enjoy a good strong dark mug of any Sumatran coffee you throw at me, but this one is my favorite right now. The Aceh region has a reputation for more specialty Sumatrans grown around Lake Toba with an emphasis on better sorting and cleaner offerings.

It’s not quite as clean tasting, complex, nor as uniform bean size as Iskandar, but it’s also cheaper. It’s MORE clean tasting and complex than Sumatra Mandheling. With this Sumatra, you get just the right amount of earthiness, and lots of spicy notes — namely black pepper but also cedar, licorice, and orange. I can’t imagine anyone not liking a mug of this.

You can stop this roast at second cracks to get the most sweetness and acidity. But we take it dark -- about 45 seconds of 2nd cracks, even a few degrees darker than our Sumatra Mandheling. The darker you go, the more black pepper you get and less sweetness. But thick body and satisfying flavor and so smooth from start to finish makes this coffee a winner.

Of course it is organic and fair trade certified.