Where in the Heck is Sumatra?
by Thomas Golubic

(from Ground Control Issue #2)

With almost 300,000 square kilometers to call its own, Sumatra is the fifth largest island in the world. Its one of over 13,000 islands that comprise the Republic of Indonesia. Tucked neatly between Malaysia and Australia, Sumatra holds a strategic position in southeast Asia. It is situated along the major sea lanes from the Indian to the Pacific Oceans. Sumatra has the most active trade in the region, with exports including oil, natural gas, rubber, palm oil, timber, tobacco, tea and, of course, coffee.

The island has a population of 36.6 million, most of whom are Muslim, with Christian, Hindu and Buddhist minorities Home to the former head-hunters and cannibals of the Batak regions, Sumatra has since settled for less ambitious culinary fare and now has a diet based on rice. Only about 6000 of the roughly 13,000 islands in the Archipelago are actually inhabited.

Being situated along the equator, the climate in Sumatra is tropical and humid through much of the year. The temperature stays consistently between 77 and 86 degrees fahrenheit. Coffee grows on the larger Indonesian Islands: Sumatra, Java, Celebes (or Sulawesi), Bali, Flores and Timor.

The Dutch brought coffee to Indonesia in 1696, when they smuggled coffee bean tree shoots from the Malabar coast in India and brought them to their newly acquired territories. Hoping to break the Arab monopoly on coffee at that time, they were quick to capitalize on the opportunity. By the early 1800's, Indonesian coffee dominated the world market.

Indonesia's hold, however, was not to last. Within eighty years, in the late 1870's, the crop was devastated by "Hemileia vastatrix," also known as leaf rust disease, and later referred to as "the coffee blight." It is a type of fungus that attacks 'arabica,' but not 'robusta' beans and affects only those arabica beans planted in low-lying areas, where the temperature is warmer. Farmers replanted, only to see their work destroyed again, this time by humans, in the millitary occupation during World War II. Consequently, the majority of beans harvested from Sumatra and Java today are robusta beans. But with Indonesia's annual coffee production coming close to 5.5 million bags, it is presently the third largest coffee producing country in the world.

The best Sumatra coffees are considered among the world's most distinctive. Usually found under the names of 'Mandheling' and 'Lintong' they come from the northwest of the country, one hundred miles due south of Medan. The coffees carry a crisp acidity within a full and rich body. These are strong coffees and are often used in blends. They are most frequently mixed with the milder coffees of South America.

Unfortunately these are dark days for Indonesia. The Asian economy in turmoil, President Sukarno under political seige and the extensive damage from recent wild fires continues to impact all sectors of society. The stability of Indonesia itself is in doubt. How recent environmental and economic calamities will affect Sumatra's coffee output and quality remains to be seen. One thing is for certain: if you find a Sumatra coffee varietal that you really love, you'd best stock up... and hope for better times ahead.

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