Sumatra Ketiara
Roast
Chocolately, smoky, big-bodied and earthy, this is the elephant of coffees, excellent on its own, especially if you like big, darker roasts, or as a base for some of our most delicious blends.
The Ketiara Cooperative has been revolutionizing the coffee growing tradition of Indonesia since 2009. Its founder, Ibu Ramah, got her start in coffee as a local “cherry” collector—and today is one of Indonesia’s most respected coffee entrepreneurs. Her efforts to empower women and foster cross-generational mentoring in a male-dominated, largely conservative industry are legendary in the Sumatra. She stands out as a business pioneer and her coffees regularly rise above the rest on competitive cupping tables.
Ketiara has been Fair Trade certified since 2012 and grown from 38 members to almost 2,000 since then—80% of whom are women. Smokey & aromatic like the earth in bloom, drink this dark roast to enjoy rich notes of dark chocolate, plum, and sweet herbs.
THE DETAILS
| Process | Wet Hulled |
|---|---|
| Drying | Sun-Dried |
| Notes | Earthy, Dark Chocolate, Plum |
| Origin | Central Aceh, North Sumatra, Indonesia |
| Altitude | 3,900 – 5,200 feet |
| Varietal | Bourbon, Catimor, Caturra, Typica |
| Body | Heavy-Bodied |
| Type | Brewed |
Coffee is the seed of a tropical evergreen shrub. Growers around the world harvest and process a wide range of coffee varietals grown under widely different conditions. The genetics of the plant and the "origin terroir” greatly contribute to the character of the coffee you wind up tasting in the cup. At the Brooklyn Roasting Company we search out the world’s finest coffees and expertly roast them to tease out their many colorful characters. Our coffee team is constantly evaluating the coffees we source (or consider sourcing). At the outset, we measure the moisture content of incoming “green” and then sample roast these lots to determine the optimal profile for each coffee on a larger, commercial scale. We cup each sample roast on rotating stone tables equipped with circulating hot water baths, and a thick, tempered glass surface that floats on zany 1960’s superballs and hula hoops. This playful, colorful backdrop to cupping and assessing coffee–the core of our craft– is a constant reminder to appreciate and unlock the flavors and aromas that characterize the extraordinary beans we buy. Taken together with our “Color of Coffee” tasting approach, this crucial quality control step typifies our “serious but not snobby” approach.
