Stumptown Coffee Roasters Sumatra Blue Batak
I finally got around to ordering some coffee from Stumptown. When we were out in Portland last Spring we stopped by a couple of their shops and brought some of their coffee home, and everything that we had the chance to try was quite good. But ever since then, I’ve mostly spent time perusing their website while not trying any of their coffees. It’s basically been a case of too many coffees and too little time. So while I’ve tried coffees from Intelligentsia, Gimme!, Counter Culture, and Barrington, I hadn’t yet gotten back to the company that first opened my eyes up to the world of specialty coffee.
I was aware of Stumptown’s reputation before we’d traveled to Portland. But it was a visit to their Annex that really amazed me. There you could try any of their coffees by the cup, even the fabulously expensive Panama La Esmeralda Geisha ($80/pound). They’d grind the beans fresh for your single cup, and make it using a Melitta-style porcelain filter. The facets of the company that stood out were the attention given to the presentation of their coffees, the knowledgeable staff, the obvious care with which they chose coffees, and their desire to convey information about the growers and growing conditions of each coffee. Not to mention the coffees themselves, which were all very good, and that played a big role in stimulating my interest in broadening my coffee horizons.
I also came to appreciate Stumptown’s efforts to put out so much information about their coffees. Their website has write-ups of the many producers they work with, videos of coffee harvesting and production throughout the world, information about the varietal of coffee beans from each producer and the altitudes they were grown at, and where every coffee was produced and by whom. All of their coffees have their own, unique stories. They even have a section of their website dedicated to information about the many varietals of coffee that you’ll encounter. I haven’t seen anything like this from other producers, and find it to be a remarkably valuable resource for someone striving to learn about and differentiate between the different coffee producing regions of the world.
Today I use the level of information provided by Stumptown as a barometer when considering other coffee companies websites and literature. Not to say that this necessarily indicates anything about the quality of a company’s coffee, but I believe it does say a lot about the roaster. Specifically, I think it indicates the roaster’s commitment to raising the profile of the people who grow coffee worldwide and to educating its consumers about what makes for a quality cup of coffee and why this is worth paying more money. Both of these are crucial steps in raising the prices paid to the farmers growing coffee, which will in turn aid those farmers in producing better coffee, resulting in a positive cycle the end result of which is better coffee for consumers and increasing prices paid to farmers.
So when I was recently trying to figure out where my next pound of coffee was going to come from,all of this led me to finally getting around to ordering a couple of pounds from Stumptown (this and their Kenya Gaturiri Reserve). The Sumatra Blue Batak is from the north/central Sumatra region of Lintong and is grown by a cooperative based around Lake Toba. The coffee is grown between 1200-1600 meters above sea level and includes the Catimor, Java, and Jember varietals.
The coffee is roasted fairly light. The nose has citrus, lemons, oranges, toast, bittersweet chocolate, and turbinado sugar. The palate is full-bodied with a notable earthy, wooden element. Flavors of fermented cherries, just-ripe strawberries and oranges, and a strong hum of acidity round out the cup. With time the coffee becomes warming and more mellow, with notes of cereal, caramel, and milk chocolate coming into play. The finish is lengthy and brightly acidic with the flavor of bitter orange peel.
This is not a coffee for the faint of heart. The high-toned acidity and the distinct earthiness pair up to make a great cup of coffee whose character changes subtly as you work your way through the cup. Yet, it’s definitely taken me a few cups of this over the past several days to acclimate my palate and be able to fully enjoy it. But now that I’ve gotten there, I am excited by this coffee. Not an everyday coffee, but a great cup that really challenges and rewards your palate.
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