Sumatra Lintong Tano Batak Wet Hulled

☕ Lemon // Lime // Chocolate // Herbal

A coffee with deep roots and a process all its own.

Lemon and lime bring the citrus, chocolate adds depth, and a herbal note gives this Sumatran coffee a character all its own. Plenty to explore beyond the familiar.

This lot brings together coffee from 57 smallholder farmers in Lintong Nihuta, Sumatra. At the heart of its story are Pak Keiza and his wife, Ibu Mega. They are Batak, their families have worked in coffee for generations, and this coffee comes from their community.

Grown at around 1,300 metres, it combines Arabigo, Gayo III and Sigararutang varieties with Indonesia’s distinctive wet-hulled processing. If you’re curious about what happens beyond the familiar washed and natural styles, this is a rather good place to start.

🌿 Giling Basah: a different way of doing things

Wet hulling, known locally as Giling Basah, is closely associated with Indonesian coffee. The important difference happens before the coffee has finished drying.

Ripe cherries are hand-picked and pulped on the same day, then fermented overnight. The wet parchment, locally known as Gabu, is sun-dried for just one or two days. At this point, its moisture content is still around 40%.

Rather than waiting until the coffee is fully dry, the parchment is mechanically removed while the beans still hold that moisture. The hulled coffee then returns to the sun until it reaches around 12.5–13% moisture.

Finally, the dried coffee goes through two rounds of hand-sorting to remove defects before being packed for export. A distinctive process, with plenty of hands-on care along the way.

🌍 A little Sumatran coffee history

Indonesia’s coffee story began on Java, and it wasn’t an instant success. Seeds brought from India in 1696 were lost to flooding. A second introduction, this time cuttings from Ceylon in 1699, gave coffee another start.

The exact arrival of coffee cultivation in Sumatra is less clear. Java dominated production for at least a century before significant volumes were grown on other islands, and its name stuck: well into the twentieth century, coffee grown elsewhere in Indonesia was still often called Java.

This lot puts a more specific place, and the people behind it, back into the picture. Lintong Nihuta. Pak Keiza and Ibu Mega. Fifty-seven farmers, with generations of coffee knowledge between them.

📍 Origin: Lintong Nihuta, Sumatra, Indonesia
Community: 57 smallholder farmers from the community of Pak Keiza and Ibu Mega
Harvest: 2025/26
Species: Arabica
Varieties: Arabigo, Gayo III, Sigararutang
Altitude: Around 1,300 metres above sea level
Process: Wet hulled / Giling Basah
Tasting notes: Lemon, lime, chocolate, herbal
Grade: IDN CA WA SPR LIN
Screen size: 16 up

☕ Brewing

Start with your usual filter, AeroPress or cafetière recipe and explore how this wet-hulled coffee compares with your regular brew. Try it black first and give the cup a little time to cool, looking for the lemon and lime alongside chocolate and herbal notes. There’s no need to change everything at once, just a chance to get to know a different style of coffee.