I hope you’ve all had a chance to try our trio of new Sumatran coffees – and while the Solok Radjo Washed and Honey processed are old favorites returning, this year we have a new coffee from producers Kardon and Yulinda – who collect coffee from over 200 widows. After their husbands died, they faced a huge knowledge gap – but Kardon and his wife Yulinda have been educating them, aiding them in their agronomy, and processing their coffee. We’re hopeful to keep working with them in the future, not just because of this awesome story, but also because it’s a particularly clean and delicious expression of an Indonesian processing technique called “wet hulling,” or “giling basah” locally.

 Wet Hulling is unique to Indonesia, although it is sometimes practiced in parts of Vietnam – and it’s idiosyncratic there for two reasons. First, coffee was introduced to Indonesia in the late 1600s by the Dutch East India Trading Company, and the Dutch East India Trading Company (often known by its Dutch initials, VOC) was concerned with exactly one thing: profit. Since the wet hulling process takes less time than traditional drying methods, the VOC was able to export coffee more quickly, and thus turn a profit faster during a time when coffee prices were exorbitant: as much as 1% of an average yearly income for a mere kilogram of beans.

 The second reason is more practical and is still why giling basah is practiced in Indonesia, particularly Sumatra, today. Indonesia is a hot, humid, and wet climate – more so than any other specialty coffee producing country. Indonesia doesn’t have a typical wet/dry season climate structure, having mostly constant rainfall and cloud cover. This makes drying coffee exceptionally difficult. You can see this represented visually below, thanks to Perfect Daily Grind and World Weather Online. Note how Sidamo in Ethiopia has a defined wet and dry season, with coffee harvests and processing coinciding with the dry season. In Bandar though, a city on the southern tip of the island of Sumatra, the rainfall both in amounts and days of rainfall per month, is nearly constant. You may remember from our washed processing class that it takes up to three weeks to fully dry a coffee – this kind of drying is nearly impossible in Indonesia.

 Where wet hulled processing differs is in the drying method. Washed or naturally processed coffees are typically kept in their parchment layer until export, when they are dry milled (sometimes called “hulling”). This promotes even drying to about 11% moisture content, and also helps protect the bean from microbial attack. In Indonesia, the parchment is removed while the beans are still wet, as high as 40% moisture. This is done using a machine very similar to a depulper that is calibrated to remove the wet parchment layer. The beans are then spread out to dry without this layer, which leads to quicker drying times in a humid environment where bacteria can run rampant.

 Wet Hulling is responsible for the typical flavor profiles associated with Indonesian coffee: wood, earth, spice, tobacco, leather, mustiness, and low acidity. It also imparts a heavy body to the coffee. These flavors, which may be considered defects in fully washed or natural coffees, are often sought after by coffee drinkers. If you’ve ever had a customer wax poetic about the “bold” flavors of Sumatran coffees, you know what I mean. Some coffee professionals feel the process clouds the taste of the terroir; that is, you’re tasting giling basah rather than Sumatran coffee notes. In the case of Kardon and Yulinda, we have a delicate expression of the wet hulled process. Expect flavors of oolong tea, citrus, and caramel – as well as a creamy, full body that lingers on the palate. We find that it speaks especially well as a batch brew, which is somewhat unusual. Either way, I hope you get a chance to taste and enjoy this special coffee, both for its unique processing method and inspiring story.

 Customers love hearing about our coffees – both the technical and story-based aspects. It’s kept me excited about working in coffee for the last fifteen years, and I hope it does the same for you.