Sumatra Musara Honey

About This Coffee

This honey-processed coffee comes from Asman Arianto, leader of the Ribang Gayo Musara Cooperative. Together with its approximately 350 members, they are in the process of changing the world's image of what a coffee from Sumatra can taste like. Through Asman's vision and each producer's careful craftsmanship & care, well-balanced coffees with great character are created. In this particular coffee, the coffee's natural sugar is left on the bean during drying. The result is a cup with the fresh lightness of apricot and soft honey notes, elegantly balanced by a smooth fullness reminiscent of sweet chocolate. Asman Arianto founded Ribang Gayo Musara Cooperative to offer competitive prices that enable the cooperative's over 350 members to reinvest in their farms and support their families. Asman is originally from Palembang in southern Sumatra, but has lived and worked in Aceh Tengah since 1998. Most of the farmers in Aceh Tengah are immigrants, many of them from Sinabung Berastagi in northern Sumatra, after the long-dormant volcano there became active again in 2013. When Asman lived in Palembang, he made a living by selling various goods, but his greatest interest was coffee production. After moving to Aceh, he started working in the coffee industry, first collecting and processing wet-hulled coffee. Soon he also started buying coffee cherries and experimenting with different processing methods, such as wet-processed, Honey and berry-dried. The drive to gather the coffee farmers in the area led Asman to found the Ribang Gayo Musara cooperative in 2018. The goal was to create better economic conditions for the farmers through fair prices that enable long-term investments in both agriculture and family life. Today, the cooperative has over 350 members who deliver their coffee cherries to the facility in Pantan Musara, where the cherries are processed with great care and expertise. Almost all coffee cultivation in Sumatra takes place on small farms, usually between 0.5 and 2.5 hectares in size. Coffee is usually the main source of income, but most farmers also grow vegetables, corn and fruit. These complementary crops contribute greatly to the family's livelihood and are an important part of the diet during the year. Being a member of the cooperative has three clear benefits for the members. Firstly, they get a higher price for their coffee cherries when they sell to the cooperative. Secondly, as members, they receive a so-called "second payment" at the end of the season – a dividend based on the profit from the sale of high-quality lots. HONEY METHOD The coffee cherries are carefully picked by hand on the member farms. When they are delivered to the cooperative's facility, they undergo a careful sorting process. The pulp is then removed using a peeling machine. After peeling, the beans, still with some of the sugar left, are laid out to dry on raised beds in greenhouses. During drying, the beans are regularly turned, sorted and cleaned to ensure even and high quality.