Today, more than 90% of Indonesia's coffee is grown by smallholders on farms averaging around one hectare. While coffee rust disease devastated the Arabica Typica cultivar in 1876, Robusta coffee was introduced as a substitute and became the primary coffee crop in southern Sumatra by the 1920s. However, in the mid-1870s, the Dutch East Indies expanded coffee-growing areas in Sumatra, Bali, Sulawesi, and Timor. Sumatra was an important coffee supplier in the world until the 1840s, when Brazil took over as the top producer.ĭuring the colonial period, Indonesian farmers were forced to grow coffee under the Cultuurstelsel system, which was highly exploitative and caused great hardship for farmers. The first exports of Sumatran coffee were sent from Java to Europe in 1711 by the Dutch East India Company, and by the end of the 18th century, coffee drinking had spread from the elite to the general population. However, the second shipment was successful and the coffee plants began to grow. In 1696, the Dutch governor in Malabar sent Arabica coffee seedlings from Yemen to the Dutch governor of Batavia, but the first shipment failed due to flooding. The history of coffee cultivation in Sumatra dates back to the 18th century, during the Dutch colonial period.

Sumatran coffee is wet hulled after picking – more on that below.

'Kuda Mas' means golden horse in Bahasa, the official language of Indonesia. Mandheling coffee comes from Northern Sumatra and Aceh. Mandheling is a trading name for Arabic coffee from northern Sumatra, named after the Mandailing people who produce coffee in the Tapanuli region of Sumatra. Kuda Mas grows at elevations up to 5,000 feet and as low as 2,500 feet above sea level.

It tastes like dark chocolate, dark caramel, and darkish berries. Sumatra Mandheling Kuda Mas is the 'drink it any time, day or night' coffee.

Sumatra mandheling excelso