Sumatra Gayo Classic Single Origin

Use these recipes as starting points and adjust to suit your coffee, equipment and taste. Weigh your coffee and water, and change one variable at a time.

Espresso

Start with 18.5g of ground coffee and aim for 37g of espresso in the cup in around 25–30 seconds. Use a basket suited to that dose. Weigh the finished espresso rather than measuring its volume, as crema changes the volume. Adjust the grind to help reach your target, then refine the recipe by taste.

Pour-over filter coffee

Start with 19g of coffee and 300g of brewing water. The finished drink will weigh less because some water stays in the grounds. For a V60 or similar brewer, try a total brew time of around 3–4 minutes and adjust the grind and pouring to suit your equipment and taste.

If the cup tastes too strong, try a little more water for the same coffee dose; if it tastes too weak, try less water. For help choosing coffee or a grind, read our coffee guide or contact us.

Sumatra is the sixth-largest island in the world and part of the Indonesian archipelago, is a renowned origin for coffee that stands distinctly apart. Its unique processing methods, fertile volcanic soils, and tropical climate combine to produce a coffee profile unlike any other, favoured by coffee lovers for its depth and intensity.

The most defining characteristic of Sumatran coffee is its unusual processing method: wet-hulling, Unlike the fully washed process (where beans are dried after fermentation and washing) or natural/dry process (where beans are dried with the cherry intact), wet-hulling involves a partial drying Here's a breakdown of the wet huling process:

• Harvest and Pulping: Coffee cherries are harvested and the outer skin is removed, typically by hand or small pulping machines.
• Brief Fermentation/Washing: The beans, still covered in a sticky layer of mucilage, are left to ferment briefly (often overnight) and then washed.
• Partial Drying: Instead of drying the beans fully, they are only dried until they reach a moisture content of around 30-50% (much higher than typical washed coffees).
• Wet-Hulling: At this semi-wet stage, the parchment layer (the protective layer around the bean) is removed. This is the crucial step that gives the process its name and contributes heavily to the unique flavor profile.
• Final Drying: The exposed, still-moist green beans are then dried further, often on patios or raised beds, until they reach exportable moisture levels.