Satisfying Sumatra - Savor Its Richness

Need a big boost to get going in the morning? A cup of ho-hum Colombian just does not have what it takes to pop those eyelids open? Or maybe you work nights and need an extra jolt of caffeine to keep the bounce in your step mid-shift? Try a cup of Green Mountain Extra Bold Sumatra Reserve; full of rich, robust flavor, guaranteed to give you that desired zip. Consistently full-bodied, with a heady aroma, this Sumatran Reserve Extra Bold is readily available in vacuum packed K-Cups.

In the early 19th Century, the Dutch first planted coffee beans in Sumatra, one of the thousands of tiny islands that make up Indonesia. The beans soon became highly prized for their flavor and early coffee merchants were able to easily pick them out because of their distinctive appearance. When green, Sumatran beans are asymmetrical and have a deep aquamarine tint. Today, these beans are grown by farmers on tiny plots of clay soil, in the sun, and no chemicals are used. Coffee plants grown in the mountainous highlands produce beans known by their region, Sumatra Mandheling and Sumatra Lintong.

Beans from the Sumatra Gayo Mountain area, the Aceh region, are grown in the shade and also without any chemicals. The unique drying techniques used by Sumatran farmers contribute to their coffee's distinctive taste. After the coffee cherries are picked, the farmers remove the skins, using rickety but picturesque machines made from scrap metal, wood, and bicycle parts. Next, the beans are allowed to ferment overnight; then they are washed by hand and dried in the farmer's yard before going to a middleman's warehouse. Here, they undergo more drying. Finally, the beans are loaded on trucks and taken to the coffee exporter at the seaport of Medan, where there is additional drying time. Exposing the beans to the pulp of the harvested fruit for extended periods of time produces the deeper tones in your cup of Extra Bold Sumatra Reserve.

Some of the Aceh beans are sent to a large mill which uses a meticulous wet processing method. It follows international standards and is certified organic by a Dutch agency. The Gayo Organic Farmers Association, a cooperative grows 100% of the organic beans from this area. Green Mountain Roasters buys this certified Fair Trade Coffee from the cooperative, assuring that the Aceh farmers receive a fair portion of the coffee sales. This cooperative has worked with Forest Trade, an importer who helped with its organization, along with Coffee Kids, a long established non-profit organization to help the small coffee farmers in Sumatra.

The Gayo Cooperative is using some of the funds from its coffee sales for a project to bring safe drinking water to more than 1,500 people. Other funds are being used to build two new schools and also to rebuild homes that were destroyed in the recent tsunami.

So while you're enjoying a robust cup of Sumatra Extra Bold, brewed fresh from a K-Cup, your purchase is aiding a partnership with the farmers of Sumatra to bring you the finest, hand picked, organic Arabica coffee beans.