Hutan is a new coffee created with KOPEPI and DRW to fund protection of the forests in Sumatra where this coffee is grown. Coming from a number of smallholder farmers across the Bies, Gegarang, Jagong, and Bintang areas, the principal of there being Bies. 70% of the smallholder households here are women producers.

Rahmah, Chairwoman of KOPEPI talked to this nature of maintaining flavour profile “As you may aware, coffee from our region is never consistent due to many factors such as altitude, variety, microclimate, harvest time, etc. So we need to have many farms to make it consistent. Our production team already kept Hutan coffee profile based on the approved sample [..], so we can maintain consistency.”

Coffee for Ketiara Hutan is a blend from several areas with different altitude and different Arabica varieties. The majority of the these areas are in Central Aceh regency. The varieties are a blend between Gayo 1 and Gayo 2 – both local names with somewhat indistinct proven parentage but given as HdT(known also as Timtim) for Gayo 1 with Gayo 2 probably being a cross from Bourbon, but including P88, Ateng Super and Borbor.

The area of Bies to the west of Lake Laut Tawar is the main catchment area for farms of Hutan Coffee, and where the trees this project funds will be planted. Local names for these are Mindi, Trembesi, Beringin, Kertu, and Terong Belanda. Says Rahmah “..We like to plant trees which is for the forest and its ecosystem (animal, water, wind, etc), and some trees which can [bring] additional income for the people who growing it.”

For the income generating trees this will include avocado, banana, orange, and durian.

Red cherries are harvested in the morning, taken to the wet mill and pulped in the late afternoon. They will be tank fermented for 12-24 hours, washed, and then sun dried to a moisture of 30%. At this point, they are taken to the wet hull facility where they continue sun-drying down to around 12.5% moisture.

Further processing involves hand picking, density sorting, sampling and testing and blending before packing.