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Saturday, December 19, 2015 Category: Blog, Uncategorized

Where is the Sumatra Lintong?

You may notice that we are no longer offering the Sumatra Lintong coffee. What happened to it? Coffee is an agricultural crop and just like the fantastic produce available now, coffee crops have seasons. When the coffee produced and picked for a season is gone, we have to wait until the next harvest season to buy into the new crop. This seasons crop of Sumatra Lintong is ripening on the trees now, but unfortunately has already been purchased by a single buyer. Sadly, we will no longer be able to carry this coffee.

The good news is that we found a great coffee with a similar flavor profile to offer in its place. The Java Ciwidey from West Java, Indonesia is a dark roast coffee with rich, bold flavor and good body. We loved this coffee as soon as we tasted it on the cupping table. We think you will love it to!!

If you would like to taste the Java Ciwidey stop by our farmers market table. You can find our current market schedule on our blog.

Saturday, December 19, 2015 Category: Blog

Flores Bajawa Ngura Coffee Beans

BGS has a new bean to introduce…The Flores Bajawa Ngura! Our roaster Flat Back out of Dorchester, Ma gives us a brief history on how this bean became so special.

“Until 2005, all the coffee in Flores was dry-processed, blended and sold to exporters as Flores DP- the cherries were simply dried on the ground and the farmer would only receive 30 or 40 cents per pound for the stuff. Without any financial incentive, the quality of this coffee was extremely low. However, in 2005, with $40,000 from the ICCRI and spearheaded by a man named Sirup, the two farmer groups (Fa Masa and Suka Maju) began processing the coffee, using a new, fully-washed method. And 2 years later, 5 more farmer groups have decided to undertake wet-processing and all seven groups are now certified organic through the Control Union Certification. This specific group of cooperatives produces two different coffees- The Bajawa Ngura this is wet-hulled (Ngura means wet-hulled in the Bajawa language), and the AWP-1, which is fully washed.”

-Flat Black Roasters

Here is an image from Tropenmuseum of the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) showing a man and child standing between coffee and/or tea trees of a plantation, Dutch East Indies, 1870-1900.

Jump to Boston General Store to purchase your 1/2 lb. bag of Flores Bajawa Ngura beans.

Saturday, December 19, 2015 Category: Blog

Sunrise for Gayo Coffee

At 2,000 meters above sea level, the moun- tains are high enough to trap the clouds, which nestle in the hills around Laut Tawar Lake in Central Aceh just before dawn. As the sun rises over the hills, the temperature climbs from a chilly 18 degrees and the cloud dissipates, revealing a wide vista of lush green coffee plants spread out over thousands of hectares up the hillsides surround- ing the lake.

This area is home to Gayo coffee, among the most sought-after coffees in the world. To be sure, other Indonesian coffees are more widely known, such Sulawesi Toraja, Sumatra Mandheling and even the notorious Kopi Luwak. Yet Gayo’s star is rising, especially amongst those who are looking for organic and fair-trade coffee. Also on pure taste, some say Gayo, which is 100% Arabica ranks among the world’s best, compared favorably to other high- growth coffees such as Blue Mountain from Jamaica. It is found here in this part of Aceh and nowhere else.

The name Gayo is taken from the names for the indigenous tribe that inhabits the Central Aceh, Bener Meriah, and Gayo Lues regencies, where this coffee is mostly grown. Starting with the Dutch colonialists, who pio- neered coffee growing in this part of the country in 1908, the Gayo people have continued the tradition, earning a living mostly as coffee farmers and traders more than 65,000 people earn their living this way. Today, the Gayo highlands are the largest producer of Arabica coffee beans in Asia with a total area of 94,800 hectares.

Apart from its taste, the organic method of growing Gayo also makes this commodity a target for world coffee exporters, resulting in a high price due to demand for organic coffee. Almost 80% of coffee growers in Central Aceh have organic plantations. Currently, Gayo coffee sells for $7.50 to $8 per kilogram for green beans. (Text by Ulisari Eslita)

Saturday, December 19, 2015 Category: Blog, Uncategorized

Sumatran Mandheling, Fair Trade Certified

This month’s coffee of the month is our Fair Trade certified Sumatran Mandheling – one of our classic beans, and one with an excellent story behind it. As devotees of Small World Coffee may know, we only purchase specialty grade coffee – the highest grade of coffee available – and our Sumatran is a fine example of the quality and value that are found in specialty coffee. We love it for its flavor as a single origin and the role it plays as part of some of our most popular blends, and we are proud to be involved with coffee brokers & growers who take care of their employees and take pride in their product.

Our Sumatran plays a vital role in many of our popular blends, including our House Blend, by adding richness and body. One of our priorities when it comes to coffee roasting & blending is establishing a good amount of body in the final cup. We do this by roasting toward the darker side – our East Coast Roast can be described as a light ‘French roast’ – but also by choosing the right beans for the job. The Sumatran became an obvious choice, as it had plenty of body and next to no acidity. You’ll find it at work in our Love Blend, Rocket Blend, and, of course, our Indie Blend, paired with Papua New Guinea.

On its own, the Sumatran is among the finest single origin coffees we offer. It is double-picked, meaning that the crop is sorted by hand, twice, to ensure It has all of the earthy, loamy notes that are characteristic of Indonesian coffees, along with some more nuanced flavors, described by some as ‘nutty,’ ‘woodsy’ and ‘chocolatey’ (especially at the finish.)

Our Sumatran Mandheling comes to us from Permata Gayo, part of a co-op of coffee growers, and is Fair Trade Certified. Farmers in the co-op are more likely to fertilize their crops with organic matter, due to the cost of importing fertilizer. After earning Fair Trade certifications, the farmers saw an increase in the price they got for their coffee, and were able to set aside a portion of the proceeds to better their working and living situations. One author reported that back in 2009 the group decided that their first expenditure would be weed whackers, to make their farming easier. Next they had planned to buy a microphone to use at their meetings, and dishes for family weddings.

Knowing these stories, and understanding the level of quality and care that go into the production of our green coffee beans is important to us, as part of the specialty coffee world. It’s given us a unique appreciation. Having such fine raw materials have always inspired us to roast and serve the finest cup of coffee! Pick up some freshly roasted Sumatran at either one of our Princeton, NJ cafes, or order it directly from our coffee roaster, here.

Thursday, July 10, 2014 Category: Blog, Fashion, Trends

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