Sumatra Lintong Dolok Sanggul - Victrola Coffee

Photo courtesy of Victrola Coffee.

This coffee scored a 94 on Coffee Review!

Facts

Village:  Dolok Sanggul

Region: Lintong

Elevation: 3940ft to 4600ft

Process: Wet Hulled

Varietals: 60-70% Typica Type (Lasuna, S-Rini, Jember) and 30-40% Catimor Type (USDA, Ateng, Kartika)

Producer: small hold farmers around village of Dolok Sanggul

Tasting Notes

Fragrance/Aroma: Molasses, Mango, Coconut, Cedar

Flavor: Molasses, Wild Berries, Cedar, Caramel

Body: Heavy

Finish: Cedar

Acidity: Winey, Medium Intensity

Roaster's Notes

We have another delicious coffee from the Lintong region of Sumatra for Victrola’s menu, offering layers of complexity to explore in the cup.  In Sumatra, the traditional wet-hulled processing method creates many of the defining characteristics of the classic Sumatran flavor profile.  This coffee brings that character into refined focus and clarity.  Starting with sweet molasses, coconut, and cedar in the fragrance, more fruit and a rich caramel quality emerge in the brewed aroma.  In the cup, balance is achieved between the slightly winey acidity (reminiscent of wild berries), the aromatic wood notes, and the intense sweetness that permeates this coffee.  The finish is long, but soft, repeating the cedar note found earlier.

Coffees in Sumatra take a somewhat complicated route from tree to export.  Our Lintong hails from the village of Dolok Sanggul, south of Lake Toba.  Small-hold farmers from the area bring their parchment to the local market in the village.  Prior to market, the farmers use a hand-pulper and sun dry their “parchment” (still in the husk) coffee in their backyard.  Pulped coffee still has some of the fruit clinging to the parchment around the bean at this stage.  At the market, local collectors purchase it and complete the processing, including more drying, hulling (removing the parchment), and final drying down to 13-15% moisture.  These local collectors then sell the raw beans to the exporter, where the coffee is thoroughly graded and sorted.

Victrola’s lot from Dolok Sanggul was carefully sourced from specific collectors who buy coffee with proven consistent cup character.  The exporter then double and triple picks (sorts) the coffee to produce a more consistent, higher quality, and uniformly sized coffee.  The particular exporter we worked with to source this coffee operates a climate controlled facility in the port city of Medan, an unusual feature that helps maintain cup quality in the warm Indonesian climate.

Click here to purchase this coffee.