Indonesia has long been one of the world’s most fascinating coffee origins, with each island producing beans with its own distinct character. At Daarnhouwer, we are fortunate to have our own office in Medan, North Sumatra, and to work closely with our long-standing partners, both producers and shippers. This close collaboration ensures that every lot of coffee we source from Indonesia is handled with care, meeting our high standards for quality, traceability, and reliability.

Aceh: The Source of Our Indonesian Coffee

A large part of our Indonesian coffee comes from the northern tip of Sumatra—Aceh. This region is renowned for its lush mountains, tropical climate, and fertile volcanic soils at high altitudes, creating ideal conditions for Arabica coffee. The rich volcanic soil and cool highland climate nurture beans with a full body, low acidity, and complex flavors, including herbal notes, subtle spiciness, and hints of earthiness.

Most farms in Aceh are smallholder family-run operations, where generations of experience have shaped the region’s reputation for specialty coffee. In Central Aceh alone, coffee farms cover more than 49,000 hectares. Among these, Gayo Arabica stands out, sought after worldwide for its exceptional quality, distinctive flavor profile, and traceability. The combination of climate, soil, and skilled cultivation has made Aceh coffees highly prized by roasters and coffee lovers across the globe.

Coffee in Aceh is typically cultivated on small plots averaging just one to two hectares. The beans thrive under shade trees, benefiting from the cooler microclimate of the highlands. Harvesting is done entirely by hand, with farmers selectively picking ripe, red cherries to ensure quality. Once harvested, the cherries are brought to local collection points or small warehouses.

Aceh’s coffee is most commonly processed using the semi-washed (wet-hulled) method, a technique unique to Indonesia. Soon after harvest, cherries are pulped to remove their outer skin and undergo a brief fermentation to loosen the mucilage. Instead of a full wash, the beans are cleaned and then partially dried to around 30–35% moisture before being hulled while still moist. Farmers then sell the beans in this state to local collectors.

This distinctive semi-wash process not only allows faster handling in Aceh’s humid climate but also imparts the bold, syrupy flavors and deep, rich body for which Sumatran coffees are famous. Combined with earthy and herbal notes, this creates a flavor profile that is instantly recognizable and highly sought after worldwide.

From Aceh to Medan

After processing in the villages, the beans – still with relatively high moisture content – are transported by shippers to Medan, where Daarnhouwer has its own office and quality lab. Here begins the crucial next stage of preparation.

The shippers play a vital role. In their warehouses, beans are carefully dried and meticulously sorted. Large machines remove stones, sticks, and other foreign materials. The beans are then graded by size and density, separating the highest-quality beans from lower grades. But the final step is always human: every lot is double-checked by hand to ensure that only clean, uniform beans remain.

 

Traceability is key. Certified coffees, such as Rainforest Alliance or Fairtrade, are kept strictly separate from conventional lots. Each warehouse organizes its stocks by customer and certification, preventing any risk of mixing. This strict separation allows Daarnhouwer to guarantee that our customers receive exactly the coffee they requested.

Daarnhouwer’s Final Quality Check

Before any shipment leaves Medan, our Daarnhouwer team performs a rigorous, hands-on assessment to guarantee quality and traceability. Each shipment goes through the following steps:

• Bag-by-bag sampling: From every shipment, representative sample material is taken by sampling each individual bag. This is tested in our Medan quality lab to verify both quality and moisture content.
• Cross-check in Europe: Duplicate samples travel to our Daarnhouwer lab in Zaandam, the Netherlands, where our team cups and evaluates them again. In both Medan and Zaandam, the assessment is carried out by licensed Q-graders, closing the quality feedback loop between origin and destination.
• Approval for export: Only when both Daarnhouwer’s assessments are confirmed and the end client signs off on the quality the coffees are released for shipment.

 

We offer the highest standard quality control of all of the premium Indonesian coffees in our collection. We are proud to have full control over the quality of every lot departing from Belawan port. Pre-shipment and stuffing samples are drawn by our own team and analyzed at our SCA-certified cupping facility. We provide sealed samples and detailed quality and loading reports to our clients, ensuring complete transparency.

In addition, Daarnhouwer supports shippers with the setup of certified supply chains across Indonesia, including Aceh, West Java, Bali, and Sulawesi.

Once approved, the coffee is loaded onto trucks, brought to the port in Medan, and shipped worldwide – to Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia. This final control ensures that every batch delivered to our clients is truly representative of Aceh’s finest coffee, with full traceability from farm to cup – ready to be roasted and enjoyed by coffee lovers across the globe.