Nomad Indonesia Sumatra

Kerinci is a relatively new and still developing coffee area in Sumatra, at the southwest end of Lake Toba.

The Kerinci Valley is surrounded by Mount Kerinci, the Kerinci Highlands and the lush forests of Kerinci Seblat National Park that are also a UNESCO World Heritage site.

AgroTropic, founded by conservation expert Pak Suki Anto, has its Sungai Lintang Coffee facility at the foot of Mount Kerinici. The group has been working with local farmers since 2009 and providing them with seedlings — it distributed 50,000 to 38 farmers initially and two years later distributed nearly 180,000 seedlings to nearly 800 local farmers, who intercrop the coffee with cinnamon, tea, potatoes and vegetables. AgroTropic also has the unusual practice of paying one flat, high rate for cherry, versus premiums for quality. While quality is prized, the single rate is meant to set a high standard and create stability for the farming families.

When ripe cherries arrive at the Sungai Lintang facility, the crews start cleaning and pulping them and put the fresh, wet parchment into water fermentation tanks for a minimum of 12 hours. The parchment is then washed and sun-dried on patios, as well as in temperature- and humidity-controlled greenhouses with raised beds. This processing method is unique to Indonesia and gives the coffee of the region a unique sweet spicy and earthy flavor.