Sumatra Gayo Washed

Sumatran coffee is almost always processed via the Wet Hulled (semi-washed) method which gives it all that earthiness and foresty flavors. This is a very well sorted lot from the Ribang Gayo people, and it's a treat for Sumatra fans.

I like it best at just 5 to 10 seconds of 2nd cracks.  You unlock all kinds of flavor, but none of the earthiness or smoke or burnt tastes.  In a french press, I get a surprising amount of sweetness underneath the rich body. Juicy watermelon, grapefruit, hints of blackberry, tomato, hops, slight acidity and cocoa. It's sweeter and cleaner than wet-hulled Sumatra but still satisfying and rich. It's quite pleasant!

The lighter roasts?  Well, you still get that nice full body, and it's creamy, sweet, no earthiness at all, but it does showcase some prominent herbal and bright notes that I don't find preferable but entirely drinkable.  Really dark roasts?  Definitely nice, but flattens out and you lose a lot of the flavors.  At that point it just tastes like a clean triple-sorted Sumatra. Either way, it's a fun coffee to try since it's so rare to see a fully washed bean out of Sumatra.

Arrival January 2024