Indonesia Sumatra Garuda Grade 1 Wet Hulled

Origin: Indonesia
Island: Sumatra
Region: Gayo Highlands, Aceh
Processing Area: Bener Meriah
Producers: Smallholder Farmers
Crop: 2025/26
Species: Arabica
Varieties: Mixed / Not Specified
Altitude: 1,100–1,500 MASL
Process: Wet Hulled / Giling Basah
Fermentation: Overnight
Initial Drying: 1–2 days in parchment
Moisture at Hulling: Approx. 40%
Final Drying: Sun Dried
Final Moisture: Approx. 12.5–13%
Sorting: Double Handpicked
Grade: Grade 1
Screen: 16+
Bag: 60kg GrainPro / Ecotact
Tasting Notes: Caramel, Green Apple, Raisin & Chocolate
Lot: P8003381-1

This coffee comes from the Gayo Highlands of Aceh in northern Sumatra, one of Indonesia’s most recognised Arabica-growing regions. Produced by smallholder farmers at elevations of around 1,100–1,500 metres above sea level, this lot is prepared using Sumatra’s distinctive wet-hulled process, known locally as Giling Basah.

The result is a coffee with the depth and body people often associate with Sumatra, but with a cleaner and brighter profile than many traditional examples.

Coffee from the Gayo Highlands

The Gayo Highlands sit in the mountainous interior of Aceh and are home to thousands of small coffee farms. Coffee is grown across a landscape shaped by altitude, volcanic soils, high rainfall and cooler upland temperatures.

Rather than coming from a single estate, this coffee is produced by smallholder farmers across the region. Cherries are harvested on individual family farms before being brought together for processing and preparation.

This smallholder model is typical of Sumatra, where many producers farm relatively modest plots and coffee forms an important part of rural livelihoods.

A Distinctive Sumatran Processing Method

What really sets this coffee apart is the way it is processed.

Sumatra is famous for Giling Basah, or wet hulling, a method that developed partly in response to the island’s humid climate.

The coffee cherries are first harvested ripe and pulped, removing the outer skin and much of the fruit. The coffee is then allowed to ferment overnight before being partially dried in parchment for around one to two days.

At this stage, the coffee still contains a relatively high level of moisture, often around 40%.

Instead of leaving the parchment intact until the beans are fully dried, as with a conventional washed coffee, the parchment is removed while the beans are still soft and moist.

This is the defining wet-hulling stage.

The exposed green coffee is then returned to the sun and dried further until it reaches a stable moisture level of around 12.5–13%.

This unusual sequence has a major influence on the appearance, texture and flavour of the finished coffee.

Why Wet Hulling Matters

Wet-hulled coffees often develop a heavier body, softer acidity and deeper savoury or chocolate-led character than conventionally washed coffees.

In this lot, that traditional Sumatran depth is balanced by a brighter, sweeter profile.

Expect notes of:

Caramel • Green Apple • Raisin • Chocolate

The caramel and chocolate provide a rich, rounded base, while raisin adds dried-fruit sweetness and green apple gives the cup a livelier, fresher edge.

The result is a coffee that feels unmistakably Sumatran, but with enough fruit and brightness to keep the cup balanced and interesting.

Grade 1 Preparation

This coffee is prepared as Indonesia Grade 1, the highest standard within the Indonesian physical grading system.

It is also prepared to screen 16+, meaning the green coffee has been sorted for a relatively consistent bean size.

After drying, the coffee is hand sorted twice to remove defects before export.

This double hand-selection is especially important in wet-hulled coffees, where careful sorting helps ensure a cleaner and more consistent final lot.

For roasters, the Grade 1 preparation and screen 16+ sizing offer a more uniform raw material and can help improve consistency through the roast.

Smallholder Production

This coffee is not produced on one large commercial estate.

It is built from coffee grown by smallholder farmers across the Gayo Highlands, particularly around the Bener Meriah area.

That means the final lot represents the work of many farming families rather than one single producer.

The benefit of this model is that it captures a broad regional character while still being selected and prepared to a defined quality standard.

For customers looking for a coffee that reflects a wider origin rather than a single-farm micro-lot, Garuda is a strong example of a carefully selected regional Sumatra.

The Gayo Identity

The Gayo Highlands have become one of Indonesia’s most important names in Arabica coffee.

The region covers parts of Aceh Tengah, Bener Meriah and Gayo Lues, and Gayo Arabica has formal geographical recognition tied to the area.

Coffee is deeply embedded in the local economy and culture, and generations of producers have developed farming and processing methods suited to the region’s high rainfall and mountainous terrain.

The traditional wet-hulled method is part of that identity.

Rather than trying to make this coffee taste like a conventional Latin American washed Arabica, the process preserves the deeper body and distinctive character that make Sumatran coffees unique.

For Roasters

This coffee is particularly well suited to medium and medium-dark roast profiles.

A medium roast should preserve more of the green apple and raisin character while building caramel sweetness and chocolate depth.

Taking the coffee slightly darker will emphasise its heavier body, richness and classic Sumatran character, making it particularly effective for espresso.

It can also work well as a component in blends where a roaster wants to add body, chocolate character and lower-toned sweetness without relying on a very dark roast.

For filter brewing, a carefully developed medium roast can still retain enough brightness and fruit to produce a rounded, complex cup.

A Classic Sumatra with Extra Brightness

Indonesia Sumatra Garuda Grade 1 is a great choice for anyone wanting to explore one of the coffee world’s most distinctive processing traditions.

Its combination of high-altitude Gayo Arabica, smallholder production, Grade 1 preparation, double hand sorting and traditional Giling Basah processing creates a coffee with real character.

It delivers the depth, chocolate and body expected from Sumatra, but with a more approachable balance of caramel sweetness, raisin richness and green-apple freshness.

Indonesia has a long coffee producing history, but recently their coffees have been overlooked by the specialty market. Thanks to our innovative and ever-expanding supply chain, we are proud to bring you high-quality coffees from many of Indonesia’s unique regions, accompanied by in-depth traceability information.

Indonesia is perhaps best known for its unique wet hulling process (giling basah). Though its exact origins are unclear, wet hulling most likely originated in Aceh during the late 1970s.

Wet hulling’s popularity can be attributed to producers’ need for prompt payments. It was also adopted specifically by many producers who lacked the drying infrastructure that was needed to shelter drying parchment from the high humidity and inconsistent rainfall typical in Sumatra. At higher elevations with constant humidity and unpredictable rainfall, drying can prove to be slow, risky and difficult.