Sumatra Aceh Gayo Wet-Hulled Coffee

A wet-hulled coffee from the Aceh Gayo highlands of Sumatra. The beans are hulled while still damp, which gives a syrupy body, low acidity and a cup of cedar, dark chocolate, herbs and tobacco. Brewed in a French press at 94°C.

Origin & Story

Most coffee in the world is dried in its parchment, the papery shell around the bean, until it is dry enough to store, and the shell comes off at the end. In Sumatra, growers do it differently. They take the parchment off while the bean is still wet and let the bare bean finish drying in the open. The method is called giling basah, which means wet milling, and in English it is known as wet-hulling.

The reason is the weather. Sumatra is hot and humid, and rain falls through much of the harvest, so drying coffee slowly in its parchment risks mold and spoiled flavors. Hulling early, when the bean holds roughly 30 to 50 percent moisture, cuts the drying time a great deal.

The steps go like this. The cherry is pulped, the beans ferment for about half a day and are washed, and they are partly dried on tarps or raised beds. Then a machine strips off the parchment, and the soft, damp beans are spread out to dry the rest of the way.

The method shapes the cup. Wet-hulled beans turn a blue-green color, and the coffee tastes heavy and low in acidity, with the earthy, herbal depth that Sumatra is known for. These beans come from Aceh Gayo, in the cool highlands around Takengon, and the cup is cedar and dark chocolate, herbs and tobacco in a syrupy body.

A French press, with its metal filter, keeps the oils that carry that body. Use water at 94°C and 15.6 g of medium-coarse coffee for a 240 ml cup, and steep for four to five minutes.

Reading the Flavor Profile

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