Sumatra - Burni Telong

How To Drink: We think this coffee is a great choice for those who add a splash of milk.

Through a cafetiere, we enjoy using 17g of coffee with 250g of boiling water. Head to our brew guides for more.

Situated under the shadows of the Burni Telong which translates as ‘Fire Volcano’ this coffee has been curated by a local collector working out of the Sub District of Karang Rejo. Mahdi has over 20 years’ experience in coffee from this region and has used to this experience to start building lots from groups of local farmers who produce the best coffee.

This lot is compromised of 60 farmers who all each harvest coffee from their small 0-1 ha farms which are in the sub districts of Karang Rejo, Panji Mulia & Babbusalam Redelong.
Each farmer will produce about 500kg – 100okg of green coffee each year. These farmers during the harvest will pick their coffee and then deliver it to one of the six local collectors who has a de-pulper and space to dry the coffee. Mahdi works with each of the local collectors helping with an operation procedure to ensure they are fermenting the coffee in the correct manner to prevent any spoiling or defective coffee.

Once they have dried the coffee to 35 %, then wet hulled and then done a second drying of the coffee to 15% it will then be delivered to Mahdi. Here he will cup and assesses all coffees before constructing the lots making sure the profiles match and moisture is below 13%. After this the coffee is then hand-picked by his selected sorting team who clean the coffee ready to be bagged in grain pro for export. Unlike many supply chains in Sumatra all the coffee is milled and bagged in the town of Takengon unlike much of coffee from this region where this usual occurs in Medan a 12 hour drive away.

Mahdi is passionate about showcasing what the coffee has to offer from this region and he is also part of a local consultancy group called the Gayo Cuppers Team who act as an independent body assessing coffees for other exporters and groups. The group also runs an academy course every year for three days to educate the and encourage the next generation of coffee experts in the region.