Peet's Coffee & Tea
SUMATRA

Sumatra, perhaps the quintessential Indonesian coffee, doesn't grow on estates or big farms. It comes from the backyards and garden plots of small landholders, who often have only a few trees and process beans by hand, using the semi-washed method, that could be the secret to this coffee's unconstrained flavor and hefty, syrup-like body. Cherries are pulped on the farm with a hand-cranked mill, and the seeds hand washed in a basket. Collectors purchase and hull the coffee while still moist and dark grayish-green, removing the parchment shells and allowing the beans to sun-dry only briefly before delivering them to the port of Medan. Along the way, they become fully dry in stages—acquiring their characteristic Sumatran earthiness and complexity. Because each lot might include the beans of 100 different farmers, great Sumatra relies on strong relationships and sharp tasting skills. We sample exhaustively for every lot we select, looking for the most noteworthy body and sweet herbal nuances to coax out with our signature Peet's roast. The result is a gutsy, glorious coffee that brews a richly seductive cup.