Coffee from Indonesia and Guatemala

I was in Boston in May 2024 for Procurement Foundry’s Tech Sourcing event and buying single origin coffee has become one of my practices. I picked up two bags, a Sumatra coffee from Indonesia and Arabica beans from the Huehuetenango region of Guatemala.

Sumatra Kokowa Gayo Supreme

I opened the Sumatra coffee first and the tasting notes from the bag are baker's chocolate, cranberry, molasses. I got a hint of cranberry and if this is your first time reading one of my posts, my palate need a lot more work. Overall I enjoyed these cups quite a bit, considerably different than some of the other coffees I’ve had recently (Anaerobic Guatemalan, Costa Rican and the Supernova Blend from Hatch). There’s little to no acidity which I’ve now come to appreciate much more. The wife also liked this one a lot more than the previous ones as she’s not interested in any coffee with acidity, a preference towards bitterness for sure.

The following paragraphs are copied from the JAHO website.

It takes a lot of cupping to discern a great Sumatra from a decent one and we’re confident we’ve done it here. This coffee is earthy, deep, complex and full bodied. As all great Sumatrans, this one is sweet, spicy and creamy. Cranberry, baker's chocolate and molasses in the cup.

The coffees of Sumatra capture the essence of the wild jungle of this tropical Indonesian paradise. Sumatran beans are a beautiful deep blue-green color with the appearance of jade.
Small landowners grown their coffee in tiny plots scattered over high terraced plateaus of clay. The coffee grows under full sun exposure without the addition of chemical fertilizers or pest control. The farmers will then remove the skin of the coffee cherries with hand-operated backyard milling machines and ferment the pulp covered beans overnight. They are then hand washed in the morning and dried on clay or canvas in the farmer’s yards.
This is followed by parchment removal and a second drying. The beans will then be hand sorted to remove sticks, stones and visible defects. The Permata is sorted again at the port of Medan before shipping.
The combination of soil, climate and traditional processing methods are what make this one of our favorite origins to cup. We’re never sure what we’ll experience, but it’s always a nice surprise. We’re happy to offer you one of the truly unique coffees in the world.

This is my second time trying a Sumatran coffee beans. The first was at a cupping event I attended and I definitely enjoyed the difference.

Guatemala Huehuetenango - El Injertal

The second bag came from Finca El Injertal which is a coffee farm in the region of Huehuetenango Guatemala. I may have waited too long to open this bag of coffee and I wasn’t able to taste any much of the presented tasting notes of cherry, milk chocolate, plum or vanilla. It’s still a good brew however it didn’t stand out in any way like many of the other coffees I’ve had recently.

The following paragraphs I copy and pasted from the JAHO website.

This is one of our favorite coffees of the year. Guatemalans are renowned for their high quality and the El Injertal does not disappoint. A highly sweet offering with cherry and milk chocolate in the first sip & hints of vanilla and plum followed by a smooth honey finish. Balanced acidity with a medium body make this the perfect breakfast coffee.

Finca El Injertal was founded in the 1930’s by Jose Olivio Chavez. The farm sits on over 200 acres of land in the northwestern Guatemalan province of Huehuetenango. It is located near several springs that provide water during the dry season as well as the energy to power the coffee mill. Coffee is produced on 173 acres while 32 acres are a forest preserve where native species of trees are protected to provide refuge for wildlife. Certified by the Rainforest Alliance, the plantation is completely covered with shade trees that are an abundant source of organic matter for fertilization and an aid to prevent soil erosion. Today Finca El Injertal is run by Jose Olivio’s grandson, Jose Alejandro Solis Chavez, and has been producing high quality coffee for three generations.

It sounds great and I wish I had brewed this coffee a lot sooner.

If you’re in Toronto like I am, ordering these beans from the United States is likely cost prohibitive, I didn’t try to find a local roaster with beans from the same country and region but that’s what I would look for if you wanted to try to taste something like this. Every roaster has their ‘roast profile’ which would impact the tasting notes but its likely close. I don’t have any evidence to support this claim as I personally haven’t tasted two similar coffees from the same country/region side by side but it’s something I’d like to try.

What I’ve learned is don’t buy coffee I’m not ready to immediately brew even if its a rare opportunity to purchase.